Vandals have destroyed 128 transmission towers in Nigeria over the past 11 months, leading to significant power supply disruptions.
According to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the federal government has incurred repair costs of up to N8.8 billion to restore some vital infrastructure.
These acts of vandalism have severely impacted efforts to stabilise power supply, highlighting ongoing challenges in maintaining electricity supply and infrastructure security in Nigeria.
This disclosure was made by the managing director and chief executive officer of the Transition Company of Nigeria (TCN), Suleiman Ahmed Abdulaziz, at the Quarterly Power Sector Working Group meeting in Abuja.
Minister of power Adebayo Adelabu also disclosed that the federal government was working in collaboration with the World Bank and the African Development Bank (ADB) to make electricity available to 50 million Nigerians by 2030.
Abdulaziz, who was represented by the executive director of TCN’s Transmission Service Provider (TSO), Olugbenga Emmanuel Ajiboye, said that between January 13, 2024, and now, 128 transmission towers have been destroyed by vandals or bandits across the country.
He lamented that when the vandals were apprehended and handed over to police for prosecution, they were granted bail only to return and continue with more acts of vandalism.
“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. So many of them have been arrested, but each time they will be bailed because the police often incident their cases as that of theft.
“When the Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna towers were destroyed, we had to get the full military escorts for our contractors to get the transmission lines and towers restored and, in some cases, they would tell us that we could only work for two hours on some days. In some instances, they would even tell us that it was not safe to move there. These are part of the challenges we are facing in the power sector”, Abdulaziz said.
The power minister, who was represented by his chief technical adviser, Adedayo Olowoniyi, said that the World Bank and the African Development Bank were working to ensure that 300 million Africans have access to electricity by 2030.
He said the power ministry was collaborating with its Finance counterpart to get this process achieved.
“The Mission 300 million is driven by the World Bank and the African Development Bank. 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 this process.
According to the Adelabu, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will sign the compact document in Tanzania in January, 2025.
He went on: “We worked extensively with the World Bank, the AfDB and the Ministry of Finance to develop the document with all the countries that will be participating in it.
“The most important thing is that we have to drive the process by ourselves through the private and public sector participation. We will do it through the solar form system, mini and micro grid, grid extension and connection,” the minister said.
The power minister further stated that, given the current resources, it is not feasible to extend the grid to all Nigerians due to funding constraints and the lack of commercial viability in certain areas. However, this does not mean electricity should not be provided to those regions, as access to electricity is a fundamental right and part of the dividends of democracy.
He said the plan is to start with home solar systems in areas where grid extension is impractical.
