CSOs, Atiku Decry Prolonged Power Outages, Call for Transparency from TCN

Former Vice President Atiku Abubukar and a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Katsina State have expressed concern over the incessant power outages and blackouts in some parts of the country.

Atiku, who singled out blackouts in the South-east, North-west, and North-east, appealed to the federal government to adopt his manifesto on power as a measure to address and curb the blackout in these geopolitical zones.

On its part, the coalition said the blackout was severely impacting business activities and causing widespread economic disruption and loss of livelihoods across the northern region of the country.

In a statement on Sunday by the chairman of the coalition, AbdurRahman Abdullahi-Dutsinma, the CSOs added that businesses continued to struggle under incessant blackout with no clear timeline for the restoration of full power.

In the statement, titled, “The electricity power crisis in Nigeria continues to be a matter of immense concern,” Atiku said, “In particular reference is the situations in both the South-east and the entire states of the North-west and North-east that have been in complete blackouts in the past three weeks.”

According to him, “Every government department responsible for addressing the problem must be quick in its intervention and restore electricity back to the distressed geopolitical zones.”

Atiku said, “Meanwhile, I still believe that my solution, as encapsulated in my Policy Document, ‘My Covenant with Nigerians’, remains the most proactive plan to lead our country out of perennial darkness.

“There is an urgent need to remove the entire electricity value chain from the Exclusive List and grant states the power to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity for themselves.

“I firmly believe that an industrial dispute with the federal government in the nation’s capital should not affect industrial activities in any of the states or cities of the country

“Even as we focus on investments in additional generation, there’s a compelling need for capacity for the complementary transmission and distribution infrastructure to transport the supplementary energy produced.”

The former vice president added, “Considering that energy opportunities exist in different parts of the country, our strategy should be a viable mix of renewable (hydro, solar, wind and biofuels) and non-renewable (coal, gas).

“I wish to restate my earlier recommendation to encourage private investors to invest in developing multiple green-field mini-grid transmission systems to be looped into the super-grid in the medium to long term.”

States in the North-west, North-east, and parts of North-central experienced power outages following the disruption of two 330kV Ugwaji-Apir Double Circuit transmission lines, impacting the affected areas.

That was confirmed by the spokesperson of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Ndidi Mbah, in a circular.

According to Mbah, the tripping of both lines resulted in the loss of 468 megawatts (MW), causing a major power outage.

He said while TCN’s team of engineers were working to discover the cause of the tripping, they were yet to ascertain what led to the disruption.

The TCN spokesman said, “The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) reports that its 330kV Ugwuaji-Apir Double Circuit transmission lines (1 & 2) went offline due to a fault, resulting in a widespread power outage affecting the North East, North West, and parts of North Central Nigeria.

“At approximately 4:53 a.m., the Ugwuaji-Makurdi 330kV Line 2 lost power, and 243 MW was transferred to Line 1 on the same route. However, by 4:58 a.m., Line 1 also went offline, causing a total loss of 468 MW. Attempts to restore both lines at 5:15 a.m. and 5:17 a.m. were unsuccessful as both lines tripped immediately upon activation.”

The coalition of civil society organisations explained that access to electricity-driven healthcare services had been compromised, leading to “tragic loss of lives daily” and closure of many businesses as well as socio-economic activities.

Their statement read, “Coalition of CSOs Katsina expresses deep concern over the prolonged power outage affecting several states in Northern Nigeria, including Katsina State.

“This extended power outage, resulting from the recent collapse of the national grid, has inflicted severe hardships on millions, impacting lives, businesses, and essential services.

“Many businesses, dependent on a stable power supply, have been forced to close, resulting in economic setbacks and loss of livelihoods. In the past eight days of this power outage, we have witnessed the mounting toll on our communities, with the negative impacts continuing to escalate.”

While accusing those in positions of power of remaining adamant over the situation because “they have access to private generators and solar systems at their residences”, the coalition said only ordinary Nigerians bore the brunt of the power outage.

It urged the federal government and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to take immediate action to address the power outage and provide Nigerians with daily updates on efforts being made to restore the collapsed national grid.

The coalition reiterated that for transparency and accountability to thrive, TCN and other relevant authorities should adopt immediate and sustained measures to alleviate the suffering caused by the power outage in the country.

Chuks Okocha and Francis Sardauna

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