Residents of Salaga in the East Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region have taken to the streets to protest against persistent power outages that have plagued the area for several weeks.

The demonstrators, numbering in their hundreds, marched through the principal streets of the town chanting songs and carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Restore our lights now”, “Items are spoiling in our fridges”, and “Students cannot study at night”.

They expressed deep frustration over the erratic power supply, which they say has made life unbearable and disrupted both social and economic activities.

According to the protesters, the frequent blackouts have affected small businesses, particularly cold store operators, welders, and barbers, who depend heavily on electricity for their daily operations. Many residents lamented that the situation has also impacted education, as students are unable to study at night due to the lack of power.

Others complained about the financial strain of running generators and the loss of perishable goods, calling on the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) to take immediate steps to rectify the problem.

The protesters later converged at the premises of the East Gonja Municipal Assembly, where they presented a petition to the authorities. The Municipal Coordinating Director, Alhassan Mahamadu Kamara, received the petition on behalf of the District Chief Executive.

He commended the residents for conducting themselves peacefully during the demonstration and assured them that their grievances would be forwarded to the appropriate authorities, including NEDCo, for urgent attention.

Residents, however, emphasised that they would not hesitate to take further action if the issue is not resolved soon. They appealed to government agencies and relevant stakeholders to treat the matter with the seriousness it deserves.

The peaceful protest ended without any reported incidents, but the message from the people of Salaga was clear, they want a reliable and consistent power supply to restore normalcy to their lives and businesses.