Jos water vendors hike price by 100% as blackout lingers

Water vendors in Jos, the Plateau State capital, have jacked up prices of water by about 100 per cent due to the lingering power outage in some parts of the northern states of the country.

The blackout began on Monday after the tripping of 330KV circuit transmission lines between Makurdi in Benue and Enugu states.

Our correspondent reports that prior to the outage, a truck of water (10 jerry cans) was sold for N500. However, following the development, vendors have increased the price to N1,000 per truck.

Manya Ibrahim, a water vendor around Zinariya community, told Daily Trust, “We had to increase the price from N500 to N1,000 because those selling water to us from the borehole have also increased their prices.

“The borehole owners told us that they operate on generators, which costs them a lot, especially the fuel to generate the water. For that reason, we had to increase the price.”

• Blackout in North: I now earn enough to feed my family – Jos Phone Charger
• Thousands evacuated as tropical storm heads to India

Another water vendor, Musa Salihu, said, “It has become necessary to increase the price because borehole owners buy fuel to sell water. That’s why we sell a truck for between N1,000 and N1,200.”

Khadija Ibrahim, a resident of Bauchi Road, lamented that the price was too high, but there was nothing they could do.

“We need water for drinking, ablution, bathing, and other domestic purposes. We’re really suffering due to this power outage. We call on the relevant authorities to find a solution to the problem,” she added.

Ya’u Danjuma, another resident, also complained about the situation.

He said, “Getting water has become a problem due to the power outage. Not all borehole owners operate on generators because fuel is very expensive. I bought a truck for N1,000 on Thursday, and it wasn’t easy. I suffered before getting one. Please, the authorities should do something.”

Daily Trust reports that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Thursday said it had identified the fault and engineers were already working to restore power to the affected areas.