The Federal Government has revealed it spent approximately N8.8 billion to repair and restore power transmission towers vandalized across the country.
This was disclosed by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Suleiman Ahmed Abdulaziz, during the Quarterly Power Sector Working Group meeting held in Abuja.
Speaking through the Executive Director, Transmission Service Provider (TSP), Olugbenga Emmanuel Ajiboye, Abdulaziz noted that from January 13, 2024, to date, 128 transmission towers have been destroyed by vandals or bandits. Highlighting the challenges, he stated:
> “As I talk to you today, 128 of our towers have been destroyed by either vandals or bandits. Till date, we have spent about N8.8 billion, by our estimation, to put them back to full and functional use. It is so sad that each time the vandals were caught and taken to police for prosecution, police would arrest them for theft, instead of vandalism, and they would be bailed. If they are charged for vandalism, they cannot be bailed, but this is where we are.”
Abdulaziz expressed frustration over the recurring vandalism, stating: “So many of them have been arrested, but each time, they will be bailed because police often incident their cases as that of theft. When the Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna towers were destroyed, we had to get full military escorts for our contractors to restore the transmission lines and towers. In some cases, they would tell us that we could only work for two hours on some days, while on other occasions, they would say it was unsafe to move there. How do we deliver electricity to Nigerians under these terrible circumstances? These are part of the challenges we are facing in the power sector.”
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, represented by his Chief Technical Adviser, Adedayo Olowoniyi, disclosed that the Federal Government is collaborating with the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to ensure 50 million Nigerians have access to electricity by 2030.
He described the initiative as part of a larger African project driven by the two financial institutions.
He said: “The mission 300 has been driven by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, and it is a project that will provide electricity to 300 million Africans. Nigeria will benefit 50 million from this. Nigeria has a large population without electricity, and this is a great opportunity for us to be part of the process. The Compact document will be signed by our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in Tanzania in January 2025.”
The minister explained that the electrification process will involve a mix of strategies: “The most important thing is that we have to drive the process by ourselves through private and public sector participation. We will do it through the solar home system, mini and micro grids, grid extension, and connection.”
Adelabu, however, acknowledged the financial and commercial constraints of extending the grid to every part of the country:
“The reality is that it is not actually feasible, based on the resources we have, to extend the grid to all Nigerians. From the funding point of view, it may not be commercially viable to extend the grid to areas that are not viable. But that does not mean we should not deliver electricity to them, which is their right and part of the dividends of democracy. We will start with the home solar system in areas where the grid may not work.”
