Minna—Youths in Niger State, yesterday, took to major streets of Minna, the state capital, to protest incessant power outages in the state, claiming that the state has for over two years been in darkness.

The protesters also stormed the regional office of the Abuja Electricity Development Company, AEDC, in Minna and the state House of Assembly.

Numbering over 5,000, the protesters, displayed various placards with inscriptions such as AEDC must go, No light in Minna, Bring back our light, We say no to darkness, among others.

They threatened that further outage, especially between now and January, 2017 would not be tolerated.

•Gov.Abubakar Sani Bello

Spokesman of the youth, Mohammed Moham-med, said: “We have told them that we need steady light for 24 hours and pre-paid metres must be given to all consumers in the state.

“Niger State deserves to have steady power supply since we have three major dams; failing which we will continue to advocate and fight for our right.

“For more than two years now, Niger State has been in darkness. Officials of AEDC promised that there would be steady power supply till December, but it has not been so.”

The protesters were received at the AEDC by the Regional Manager, Engr. Mazi Abednego, who assured that there would be improvement as measures were being taken already.

While addressing protesters in front of the state House of Assembly Complex, the Speaker, Ahmed Marafa, said the power situation had affected all sectors and that their demands would be looked into.