TCN: ₦8.8bn Spent Repairing Vandalized Power Transmission Towers
Government Struggles with Persistent Infrastructure Attacks While Pursuing Ambitious Electrification Goals
The Nigerian Federal Government has disclosed a staggering financial and operational challenge in the power sector, revealing that it has expended approximately ₦8.8 billion to repair transmission towers deliberately destroyed by vandals and bandits across the country.
At a Quarterly Power Sector Working Group meeting in Abuja, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Transition Company of Nigeria (TCN), Engineer Suleiman Ahmed Abdulaziz, provided a stark assessment of the nation’s electricity infrastructure vulnerabilities. Between January 13, 2024, and the present, a total of 128 transmission towers have been systematically destroyed, presenting a major impediment to Nigeria’s electrical infrastructure and national development.
The most alarming aspect of this ongoing crisis is the apparent ineffectiveness of law enforcement in deterring these destructive activities. Abdulaziz, speaking through the Executive Director of Transmission Service Provider (TSO), Olugbenga Emmanuel Ajiboye, highlighted a critical legal loophole that enables repeated vandalism. When perpetrators are apprehended, police frequently categorize their crimes as theft rather than vandalism, which allows them to be easily bailed and subsequently return to continue their destructive activities.
The challenges extend beyond financial losses. In specific instances, such as the destruction of Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna towers, the TCN was forced to secure full military escorts for contractors attempting to restore transmission lines. Even then, work restrictions were severe, with contractors sometimes permitted to work only two hours daily, and in some locations, being advised that restoration efforts were too dangerous to undertake.
“How do we get out of this? How can we deliver electricity to Nigerians under these terrible circumstances?” Abdulaziz pointedly asked, encapsulating the frustration and complexity of Nigeria’s power sector challenges.
‘Mission 300’ Promises Hope for Millions
Simultaneously, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, presented a more optimistic vision for the country’s electrical future. The Nigerian government is collaborating with the World Bank and the African Development Bank (ADB) on an ambitious “Mission 300” project aimed at providing electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030, with Nigeria targeting 50 million beneficiaries.
Adelabu, represented by his Chief Technical Adviser Adedayo Olowoniyi, emphasized the multi-faceted approach to achieving this goal. The strategy includes solar home systems, mini and microgrids, grid extensions, and connections. The minister acknowledged the financial and logistical challenges of universal grid extension, recognizing that it may not be commercially viable or financially feasible to connect all regions.
“The reality is that it is not feasible, based on the resources we have, to extend the grid to all Nigerians,” Adelabu candidly stated. However, he stressed that this limitation should not prevent the delivery of electricity, which he considers a fundamental right and a dividend of democracy.
The compact document for this electrification project is scheduled to be signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Tanzania in January 2025, following extensive collaboration between the World Bank, African Development Bank, and Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance.
