NERC, ONSA Seek Stronger Synergy Against Power Infrastructure Vandalism

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) have moved to deepen cooperation to tackle rising vandalism of power infrastructure and strengthen protection of assets across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

NERC chairman, Musiliu Oseni, made this known when he received an ONSA delegation on a courtesy visit focused on boosting inter-agency collaboration and enhancing infrastructure security.

Welcoming the delegation, Oseni, in a post on NERC’s X handle on Wednesday, stressed ONSA’s critical role in safeguarding national power assets.

He emphasised that sustained collaboration and stronger synergy between the two bodies are essential to protect critical electricity infrastructure from the rising cases of vandalism and improve the reliability of power supply nationwide.

Leader of the delegation, director of Critical National Assets and Infrastructure Protection at ONSA,
AVM Enebong Effiom, on his part, reiterated the need for closer cooperation in securing assets within the power sector. He said the two agencies must work together to reduce attacks on installations that undermine supply and impose costs on consumers.

According to the commission, key highlights from the meeting included: Establishment of a joint stakeholders’ forum to combat vandalism; Development of a shared database of assets, vandalism incidents, and infraction reports to assess threat levels; and Creation of a reporting platform to enable timely incident reporting, faster arrests, and prosecution of criminal elements

Participants at the meeting agreed several measures to strengthen protection of the NESI. They said they would establish a joint stakeholders’ forum to combat vandalism, develop a shared database of assets, vandalism incidents and infraction reports to better assess threat levels, and create a reporting platform for timely incident alerts, faster arrests and prosecution of perpetrators.

Both agencies expressed readiness to follow up on the agreed steps and to involve relevant stakeholders across government and industry to ensure the measures translate into improved security and more reliable electricity for consumers.