The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Ahmed Abdulaziz disclosed that the Federal Governement (FG) has spent a total of N8.8Bn to repair and restore 128 transmission towers that were vandalized nationwide from January to November, 2024.
He disclosed this during the Quarterly Power Sector Working Group meeting in Abuja.
Abdulaziz said, ““It is so sad that each time the vandals were caught and taken to the police for prosecution, police would arrest them for theft instead of vandalism, and they would be bailed. If they are charged for vandalism, they cannot be bailed, but this is where we are. So many of them have been arrested, but each time they will be bailed because police often incident their cases as that of theft.
“When the Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna towers were destroyed, we had to get the full military escorts for our contractors to get the transmission lines and towers restored, and in some cases, they would tell us that we could only work for two hours in some days.
“In some instances, they would even tell us that it was not safe to move there. How do we get out of this? How can we deliver electricity to Nigerians under these terrible circumstances? These are part of the challenges we are facing in the power sector.”