Blackout : 19 Northern govs meet, President Tinubu deploys troops against vandals
The governors of the 19 northern states on Monday called for the diversification of energy following persistent blackouts in 17 states of the region recently.
Apart from Niger and Kwara, 17 states in the North are without electricity supply in the last two weeks.
The worst affected are Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Gombe and Katsina, who have not had supply in the last two weeks.
Others are Sokoto, Zamfara, Bauchi, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Niger, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kogi and Benue.
Nigeria daily post gathered that commercial activities are in dire state in the region following the outage occasioned by vandalism of the power transmission line in parts of northern Nigeria.
As part of efforts to resolve the issue, the Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Yahaya, who is also the Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, convened a joint meeting involving the 18 other governors from the region and traditional rulers in Kaduna State on Monday.
Sultan of Sokoto and Chairman of Northern Traditional Rulers Council, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar lll and other prominent monarchs from the region, including Shehu of Borno, Umar El-Kanemi; Emir of Zazzau, Nuhu Bamali; Ohinoyi of Ebira land, Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar, Emir of Kazaure and Emir of Bauchi were also at the meeting.
Among the northern governors who attended the meeting are Bauchi Governor, Bala Mohammed, Borno’s Prof. Babagana Zulum, Nasarawa’s Abdullahi Sule, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, Gombe’s Mohammed Yahaya, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna, Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, Yobe governor Maimala Bumi and Kwara’s AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq. Others were represented by their respective deputy governors.
The governors and monarchs called on the Federal Government to address the current electricity power blackout in northern states as well as invest in additional transmission lines and diversified energy supply to ensure improved electricity supply.
A communiqué signed by Governor Yahaya on behalf of the group read, “Forum resolves to call on the Federal Government and relevant Agencies to urgently address the current electricity power blackout affecting most of the Northern States due to vandalisation of electricity transmission infrastructure.
“This matter not only underscores the vulnerability of critical infrastructure but also the need to build additional transmission lines and diversify our energy supply so as to better connect our region and improve our energy resilience.”
President Bola Tinubu on Monday directed the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and relevant agencies to speed up the pace of work to restore electricity to all the affected states in the North.
He warned that the government would no longer condone deliberate sabotage and destruction of public utilities.
Tinubu gave the directive at a meeting with Adelabu, who briefed him on efforts made by the Transmission Company of Nigeria to repair the damaged Shiroro-Kaduna transmission lines at the Aso Rock Villa, on Monday.
He expressed concern over the blackout in the northern region of Nigeria in the last week.
“The President directed a long-term solution to the problem,” a statement by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, read on Monday evening.
“He is now leading efforts to end the disruption that has paralysed social and economic activities, summoning the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
“The President has 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.
“President Tinubu is saddened by the reports of vandalism and willful destruction of power infrastructure and other public assets that caused the unfortunate blackout.”
Tinubu charged TCN engineers not to relent in bringing immediate relief to the people who need electricity to sustain their social and economic activities.
The Presidency stated that to ensure that restoration work continued unhindered, Tinubu “directed the National Security Adviser 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.”
