President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed concerns over the blackout in the northern part of Nigeria in the last one week, just as the federal government assured of alternating power source as a way out of the challenge.
The region had been in darkness for days following the vandalisation of the Shiroro Kaduna transmission line.
Concerned by this development, the president summoned Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu over the blackout.
Specifically, he ordered the NSA to provide surveillance over the engineers fixing the vandalised Shiroro-Kaduna power lines.
A statement Monday by the president’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, quoted Tiinubu as “expressing sadness over the reports of vandalism and wilful destruction of power infrastructure and other public assets that caused the unfortunate blackout.
“At a meeting with the Minister of Power, who briefed on efforts made 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.
“The president directed the Minister of Power and relevant agencies to speed up the pace of work to restore electricity to all the affected states in the North.
“The president charged TCN engineers not to relent in bringing immediate relief to the people who need electricity to sustain their social and economic activities.
“To ensure that restoration work continues unhindered, the president also directed the National Security Adviser, Mr Nuhu Ribadu to work with the Army and Air Force to deploy adequate security personnel, including aerial cover, to protect the engineers who are fixing the damaged transmission line.
“He implored traditional rulers, community leaders and other leaders of thought to work with security agencies to protect public assets and infrastructure.
“He said the federal government would no longer condone deliberate sabotage and destruction of public utilities,” Onanuga added.
…FG explores alternative power source
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Mr Adelabu said the federal government was putting in place measures to provide an alternative power source for the northern states to cushion the effect of the ongoing blackout in the region.
Adelabu said: “We have also explored the alternative line of providing light to the north through the Ikot Ekpene sub station 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 that at the last Federal Executive Council (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 supply electricity to the northern part of the country.”
Adelabu said the “disturbance” in power supply to the region involves about 17 states.
He said: “We discussed the root cause of this, which was basically due to vandalisation of the transmission lines of Shiroro-Kaduna line, which is the major line that supply electricity to the north.”
…Govs worried too
The development has also become a source of concern to governors and traditional rulers from the region, who said the economic hardship had the worst hit the north.
They spoke Monday at the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) emergency meeting in Kaduna, during which the monarchs opened up on the challenges facing the region.
At the parley were the northern governors, the traditional rulers led by Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who was invited to brief the forum on the security challenges facing the north.
Speaking at the meeting, the NSGF chairman and governor of Gombe state, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, urged his colleagues as leaders of the north, to adopt measures targeted at alleviating the suffering of the masses through strong social welfare programmes, support for small and medium enterprises and policies that attract investment to the region.
The governor said the recent creation of the ministry of regional development was a clear indication that the future of Nigeria is regional, and therefore called on them to prepare for that future.
Addressing the meeting, the Sultan of Sokoto said the challenge around issues bedeviling the region had always been that of implementation.
He said: “All Northerners should come together to develop the north. We never lack reports to implement to solve our problems, what we lack is implementation of such reports. We the traditional rulers assure you that we are with you in this journey to develop the North. We will not look back.”
On his part, CDS General Musa told the governors that the armed forces was working relentlessly to address the insecurity across the country, including the northern region.
…ACF on power outage
Speaking in similar vein, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency over the prolonged power outage affecting the northern Nigeria, warning that the persistent blackout posed a significant threat to both the region’s security and its economic well-being.
In a statement by ACF’s national publicity secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the forum expressed grave concern over the power crisis, which, according to him, had stretched into its second week, leaving much of the North in darkness.
Muhammad-Baba said the blackout had had severe consequences on the daily livelihoods of millions, especially, small and medium-sized businesses that rely on a stable power supply.
According to the ACF, the outage had led to widespread frustration and had the potential to ignite unrest if not urgently addressed.
“The silence from responsible authorities, particularly the federal government, is disturbing. The North, despite its significant contribution to Nigeria’s power generation, suffers from grossly unequal electricity distribution. There is a stark imbalance, with northern Nigeria receiving far fewer power substations compared to other regions, despite hosting more than half of the country’s population,” the statement read.
It said “the current distribution model, which leaves northern states disproportionately underserved, has rendered many communities inoperative, especially as small businesses continue to be hit hard by the blackout.”
ACF urged the federal government to treat the situation with utmost urgency by declaring a state of emergency, prioritising the restoration of power to affected areas. The forum also called for an immediate review of the electricity allocation framework to ensure fair distribution across the country.
…Kano speaker Falgore too
Raising similar concerns, Speaker Kano state House of Assembly Jibril Ismail Falgore called on the federal government to urgently remedy the situation.
In a statement Monday in Kano by his spokesman, Kamaluddeen Sani Shawai, Falgore expressed dismay over the recurrent power outages, saying it had negatively impacted the economy, the affected states and the nation at large.
Falgore underscored the importance of exploring alternative energy sources to alleviate the strain on the national grid and mitigate the negative consequences of these outages.
He said a well-managed system was crucial to prevent frequent collapses in future.
The speaker also called on the TCN and other relevant stakeholders to take immediate action.
He, therefore, proposed a shift towards renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power that could operate independently of the national grid, suggesting this as a sustainable solution to the current challenges.
The speaker also urged the federal government to consider approving constitutional amendments that would empower state governments to generate and transmit their electricity independently.
He appealed to the authorities to swiftly repair the vandalised facilities to restore power supply to the affected states.