Phone charging vendors in Gombe State, popularly known as ‘Masu chajin wire,’ are cashing in on a prolonged power outage affecting much of northern Nigeria, with some areas enduring nearly 120 hours of blackout.
The power cut, which began on Monday, has forced residents to rely on these vendors to keep their devices charged.
Charges for phone charging have surged from N50-N100 to as much as N200 per day, while power banks now cost between N300 and N500 to charge—up from the previous N150-N200.
A Gombe resident, Laraba Johnson, lamented the hardship caused by the extended blackout, saying, “Charging at Masu chajin wire was cheaper before. Now I pay N300 just for a power bank, and they may not even let it fully charge. It’s a struggle.”
Another resident, Danbatta Abubakar, urged the Transmission Company of Nigeria to restore power urgently, expressing frustration…