President Bola Tinubu has expressed concern over the recent blackout in the northern region of Nigeria.
Tinubu announced efforts to end the disruption that paralysed social and economic activities. He summoned Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
The president, according to a release issued on Monday by his adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, directed the minister and relevant agencies to speed up the pace of work to restore electricity to all the affected states in the north.
Tinubu said he was saddened by the reports of vandalism and wilful destruction of power infrastructure and other public assets, which caused the blackout.
In a meeting with Adelabu, who briefed on efforts by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to repair the damaged Shiroro-Kaduna transmission lines, the president directed a long-term solution to the problem.
Tinubu charged TCN engineers to ensure immediate relief to the people who, he said, needed electricity to sustain their social and economic activities.
To ensure that restoration work continued unhindered, Tinubu also ordered the NSA to work with the army and air force to deploy adequate security personnel, including aerial cover, to protect the engineers fixing the damaged transmission line.
The president implored traditional rulers, community leaders, and other leaders of thought to work with security agencies to protect public assets and infrastructure.
According to Tinubu, the government will no longer condone deliberate sabotage and destruction of public utilities.
The federal government also hinted on the possibility of establishing a decentralised national grid to ensure that the entire country was not thrown into darkness at the same time if anything happened to the central grid.
It assured that it was working hard to restore power in the 17 northern states, with an explanation that a security challenge had been the reason behind the delay in fixing the vandalised facilities.
Addressing newsmen on Monday after meeting with Tinubu at State House, Abuja, the power minister attributed grid failure in the country to obsolete facilities.
According to Adelabu, one of the ways to stop nationwide blackouts is to have state or regional grids so that a problem in a particular line will not affect the others.
Answering questions on incessant blackouts, as witnessed in recent times, Adelabu said, “The grid actually was disturbed one time, and we deliberately shut it down. The second time because of the explosion of the transformer at Jebba plant before this, the last disturbance on the grid was about four months ago, which meant that we have been managing the grid.
“Let me tell you, the truth of the matter is we have old infrastructure. We have a national grid that is more than 50 years old. We have national grid whose transmission lines are weak, the towers are falling, and the substations, the transformers are old. In fact, the transformer that actually exploded in Jebba was 47 years old. We’ve been trying to revamp this, to change them, but they cannot all be changed overnight.
“So it’s like you’re having a rickety car. You’ll be expecting breakdown once in a while. What we continue to do is continue to manage the grid to prevent frequent occurrence of the grid disturbance, until we’re able to completely overhaul the grid itself, then we’ll have reliable grid.
“Secondly, we are working on establishing what is called a super grid, which is a backup of failover, optional grid. If the national grid has a problem, there will be an alternative route through which power can be transmitted. That is what we are working on.
“Then, lastly, is the fact that the world has moved beyond having a centralised grid. Grid must be regionalised. We must have state grids, so that each of the regionalised grids will be insulated from others. A problem in a particular line will not affect the others.
“That is what we are working on. Until that is done, we believe that we’ll keep managing what we have and reduce the frequent occurrence of the grid disturbance.”
The minister said he had briefed Tinubu on the blackout in the northern states, adding that the president had directed the NSA to provide security to TCN to fix the vandalised facilities.
He said, “My meeting with Mr President, among other things, included the issue of the disturbance in electricity supply to the northern part of Nigeria, about 17 states. We discussed the root cause of this, which was basically due to vandalism of the transmission lines of Shiroro-Kaduna line, which is the major line that supplies electricity to the north.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria had already set out to fix this line. What they have asked for, which has been provided to them now, is the security cover of the National Security Adviser through the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Staff to enable them restore the damaged lines. We are optimistic that very soon this will be fully restored.
“We have also explored the alternative line of providing light to the north through the Ikot Ekpene substation, supplied from the Calabar plant. But the line got cut along the line, and we’re also trying to fix that. And if you remember, at the last FEC meeting, one of the approvals for the ministry of power was actually the upgrade of the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line, which is the major line that supplies electricity to the northern part of the country.
“We already have approval for this, it’s one of the oldest transmission lines that we have in Nigeria, and we believe that it requires an upgrade, and through the magnanimity of Mr President and the Federal Executive Council, we got an approval to fix the line on a permanent basis. Once this is done, I believe that power to the north will be more stable than we are experiencing right now.”
On whether Nigerians will be compensated for the days they were in darkness, the minister responded in the affirmative.
According to him, “Yes, what we are working on, like I’m going to have a meeting with the Chairman of NERC, and all the Discos, for those days during which they suffered blackout there should not be billing of any sort for any customer, be it household, office consumer or industrial consumer, they will be immune for billing for those periods.”
Northern states governors, at a joint meeting with the region’s traditional rulers, Chief of Defence Staff, and other stakeholders, on Monday, addressed the ongoing blackout in the region and other challenges affecting them, including security concerns, economic issues, and sustainable development priorities.
The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, also on Monday, reacted to the continued power outage in several parts of the country, especially North-east and North-west.
That was as the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said the airstrikes by the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai had eliminated scores of Boko Haram terrorists in two key locations in the Bula Marwa area of Borno State.
Acting under the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), at a meeting in Kaduna, Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, the forum’s chair, raised concerns about the power outage caused by vandalism of critical infrastructure.
Yahaya called for investments in new transmission lines and energy diversification to prevent future disruptions.
Yahaya also stressed the need to move beyond symbolic meetings, urging NSGF and the Northern Traditional Rulers Council to develop practical, results-oriented strategies tailored to the region’s peculiar challenges.
“The time to walk the talk is now,” he said, stressing that unity, determination, and bold leadership would steer the region towards a more prosperous future.
The NSGF chairman emphasised that the forum under his leadership was committed to charting a cohesive agenda that would leverage north’s potential for sustainable growth.
Acknowledging recent military successes against terrorists and bandits, Yahaya stressed that sustainable peace required continued collaboration with security agencies and the implementation of recommendations from civil society and regional security committees.
Reflecting on recent protests, he highlighted the need for youth empowerment through education, skills development, and employment opportunities to prevent future unrest.
He advocated strengthening agricultural infrastructure, supporting farmers, and reviving agro-industries, like the textile sector, to address food insecurity and drive economic revival.
On the recent floods in Maiduguri and other areas, Yahaya urged collaboration with federal agencies to build irrigation systems and adopt sustainable environmental practices.
He emphasised the importance of traditional institutions as tools for conflict resolution and community engagement, while praising the restructuring of the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) as a step towards economic revitalisation in the north.
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, in his welcome address, emphasised the urgent need for a unified strategy to combat insecurity and other regional challenges, stating, “Without security, there will be no development.”
Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, who led the traditional rulers, emphasised the critical role of the traditional institution in promoting peace and stability in the region.
He highlighted the need for honest discussions about the root causes of insecurity, including poverty and unemployment, and called for decisive actions from political leaders to address the issues effectively.
The sultan commended Yahaya for constantly engaging with stakeholders across multiple sectors and galvanising his colleagues to implement actionable strategies towards addressing the region’s numerous challenges.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, called for the whole-of-society approach to tackling terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other emerging security threats in the country.
The CDS said collaboration between the government, communities, traditional and religious leaders was essential in the fight against insecurity.
He revealed that the newly formed theatre Command of Operation FASSAN YAMMA would further strengthen the resolve of the armed forces to bring lasting peace to the region and Nigeria at large.
“By working hand-in-hand, we will overcome the challenges before us and pave the way for a better future for Nigeria,” Musa said.
He called on the northern governors’ forum to sustain its support to the military.
The CDS also assured that the military would continue to support all actions and initiatives by the governors, traditional and religious leaders to achieve peace in the region.
A statement by Acting Director, Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, said the CDS, on behalf of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) pledged their unalloyed loyalty to the President Bola Tinubu administration.
Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha, Linus Aleke , John Shiklam, and Segun Awofadeji
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