EXTRA: ‘Up NEPA!’ — Nigerians in Texas rejoice as power is restored after four days

Nigerians in Texas, United States, were seen chanting “up NEPA” after electricity in the area was restored after four days.

In a video which has gone viral on social media, people were seen dancing and singing “up NEPA”, a popular phrase used by Nigerians to show excitement when electricity is restored.

https://twitter.com/DrOlufunmilayo/status/1362477986344280067

Texas has witnessed extreme winter weather which affected the state’s energy grid, causing power and water outages since Monday.

Citizens who got water were advised to boil for drinking, due to power outage, at the state’s largest water treatment plant was also affected. Texans are also struggling with food as grocery stores are running out of supply and battling with storage.

On Thursday, Bill Magness, president and chief executive officer of Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), said it became necessary to control outages on Monday as the state’s power grid was “seconds or minutes” away from catastrophic failure and a complete blackout.

However, electricity is gradually being restored to homes across the state.

In a tweet early on Thursday morning, Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, said: “About 1,600,000 homes have had power restored today. Current power generation is restoring an additional 200,000 homes every hour.”

UPDATE: About 1,600,000 homes have had power restored today.

Current power generation is restoring an additional 200,000 homes every hour.

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 18, 2021

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Meanwhile, Joe Biden, US president, has declared a state of emergency in Texas and has authorised the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide generators.

“Jill and I are keeping Texas, Oklahoma, and other impacted states in our prayers. I’ve declared states of emergency, authorised FEMA to provide generators and supplies, and am ready to fulfill additional requests. Please heed the instructions of local officials and stay safe,” Biden said.

Meanwhile, Ted Cruz, Texas senator, has come under fire for going on vacation with his family to Mexico amid the crisis.

Photos of the Republican lawmaker at an airport has circulated rapidly on Twitter.

According to the BBC, the senator said he booked the vacation for his young daughters who “asked to take a trip with friends”.