The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu is currently in a meeting with the old and new heads of agencies under the Ministry of Power.
Although the details of the meeting are yet to be made known, an official at the Ministry said, the meeting was called over the current state of electricity supply in the country.
She said, “the Honourable Minister, Chief Adebayo Adekola Adelabu in a meeting with the old and new Heads of Agencies under the Power Ministry, on the current state of electricity Supply in the country”.
It should be noted that despite the huge capital (over 12 trillion) so far invested in the sector, it could not generate, transmit, and distribute electricity above 4000 megawatts for domestic use, leaving the economy in a sorry state.
The problem of the sector is multifaceted, ranging from gas constraints, debts, lack of liquidity, vandalism, and aged infrastructure, to policy inconsistency.
Just yesterday, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), reported that its Shiroro-Katampe 330kV transmission line was destroyed by the economic saboteurs.
The sad incident was the fifth recorded between February and March this year, according to the statement released by the TCN General Manager Public Affairs, Mrs. Ndidi Mbah on Sunday, March 10, 2024.
The GM said, the incident has added to the series of vandalism incidents recorded by TCN in February 2024, including the destruction of Tower 70 along the Gwagwalade-Katampe transmission line on February 26, 2024.
Other incidents, according to her, include the vandalism of towers 377 and 378 along the Gombe-Damaturu 330kV transmission line on February 23, 2024, and the attack on towers 145 to 149 and 201 to 218 along the Owerri-Ahoda 132kV transmission line on February 15, 2024.
She added that on February 1, 2024, Tower number 388 along the Jos-Bauchi 132kV single circuit transmission line collapsed due to vandalism.
While noting that the acts of sabotage were unacceptable, she urged relevant security agencies and host communities to collaborate in apprehending the perpetrators, adding that the Protection of the nation’s transmission infrastructure was paramount, and collective efforts are required to curb the incidents.
“TCN calls upon all Nigerians to assist in reporting such acts of vandalism. Electricity infrastructure is a national asset, and safeguarding it is a collective responsibility”, she added.
Meanwhile, the Minister has vowed to surmount all the challenges facing the sector, especially, debt payment and vandalism to give Nigerians a stable electricity supply.
“We must live up to expectations. We will not relent until we achieve improvement in power supply. We are working with everyone to protect national assets. We are working with the NSA for adequate protection of power facilities. We can see the saboteurs at work.
“Some people are not happy that we are improving supply, but we cannot be intimidated. They will meet us there. We have the support of the President and the National Security Adviser to deal with saboteurs who are poised to vandalise the nation’s installations, and destroy its power distribution activities”, he said.
