The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) discloses that over N8.8 billion has been spent on the repair of transmission towers damaged by vandals, highlighting the ongoing challenges.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) revealed that over the past 11 months, it has expended more than ₦8.8 billion on repairing transmission towers damaged by vandals and bandits nationwide.
Sule Abdulaziz, the Chief Executive Officer of TCN, disclosed this information at the quarterly power sector working group meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.
Abdulaziz, represented by Olugbenga Ajiboye, the Executive Director of Transmission Service Provider (TSO) at TCN, emphasized the concerning extent of destruction.
He reported that from January 13 until now, a total of 128 transmission towers have been damaged across the country. These incidents have greatly disrupted the nation’s power transmission infrastructure.
Abdulaziz voiced his frustration with the justice system, noting that apprehended vandals frequently make bail and then repeat their offenses. He advocated for stricter enforcement measures and harsher penalties to deter these destructive acts.
“As of now, we estimate that we’ve spent approximately N8.8 billion to restore them to full and functional use,” Abdulaziz stated.
It’s unfortunate that whenever the vandals were caught and taken to the police for prosecution, they would be charged with theft instead of vandalism, allowing them to be released on bail.
“If they face charges for vandalism, bail is not an option. However, we find ourselves in a situation where many have been arrested only to be released on bail because the police frequently categorize their cases as theft.”
“When the Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna towers were destroyed, we needed full military escorts for our contractors to restore the transmission lines and towers. In some instances, they informed us that we could only work for two hours on certain days.”
In certain cases, they even warned us that relocating there was unsafe. How can we resolve this issue and provide electricity to Nigerians under such difficult conditions?
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These are some of the challenges we encounter in the power sector.
“50 Million Nigerians to Gain Access to Electricity by 2030”
In response to the sector’s challenges, Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, announced that the federal government is working with both the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to provide electricity to 50 million Nigerians by 2030.
Adelabu, represented by Adedayo Olowoniyi, the chief technical adviser, stated that the power ministry is working together with its finance counterpart “to accomplish this process.”
“Adelabu stated that Mission 300, spearheaded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, aims to supply electricity to 300 million Africans. Nigeria is expected to benefit with power reaching 50 million of its citizens.”
Nigeria has a substantial population lacking access to electricity, presenting us with an excellent opportunity to contribute to addressing this issue.
The Compact document is scheduled to be signed by our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in Tanzania in January 2025.
We collaborated extensively with the World Bank, the AfDB, and the Ministry of Finance to develop this document alongside all participating countries.
It is crucial that we lead the process ourselves, involving both private and public sector participation. We plan to achieve this through solar systems, mini and micro grids, as well as grid extension and connection.
The truth is that, given our current resources, it isn’t feasible to expand the grid to reach all Nigerians primarily due to financial constraints.
Secondly, while extending the grid to areas that are not economically viable may not be practical, we must still provide electricity to these regions. Providing access to electricity is their right and a fundamental aspect of the benefits of democracy.
Adedablu announced that the federal government will begin implementing home solar systems in regions where the conventional power grid may be unreliable.
