Vandals destroy electricity transmission tower in Port Harcourt

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Despite the recent improvement in the supply of electricity, Nigeria may not meet its 6,000 megawatts power generation target for the year as a result of continued vandalism of transmission infrastructure, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company of Nigeria has said.
The NDPHC on Thursday raised the alarm that the country’s power supply was being threatened following the destruction of a major electricity transmission tower that connects the North-South loop to the national grid.

It specifically stated that the hope of stable electricity supply might not be realised unless the atmosphere was provided, stressing that the deliberate vandalism of the 330KVA Alaoji-Calabar line at the Ugwunagbo Local Government Area of Abia State posed a great threat to power supply across the country.

The Managing Director, NDPHC, Mr. James Olotu, in a document made available to our correspondent in Abuja, stated that although the destruction of the said transmission tower was done on May 28 this year, the company had continued to receive reports of more impending attacks.

He said, “Power supply cannot get to the end users when those through whose domain the infrastructure traverses continue to destroy them or seek to make unjustified economic gains out of them. Destruction and vandalism of public infrastructure is economic sabotage, which constitutes a serious crime under our laws.

“We have reports from our team on the ground of rumour of more impending attacks in the form of more vandalism and carting away of our materials on site if urgent steps are not taken to bring to order those already fingered in the crime.”

Olotu said aside from the destruction of the major tower, 10 drums of transmission conductors, weighing over 40 tonnes, were stolen in Umuahia during the same period.

He added that this had hampered the transmission of generated electricity around the region to the national grid for onward distribution across the country.

The Executive Director, Legal, NDPHC, Mr. Abdullahi Salisu, stated that the firm had to petition the Inspector-General of Police to intervene in the case as the transmission tower in question was hacked down by some identified suspects.

He said, “We are worried and constrained to call for your (IGP) urgent intervention because, in spite of the arrest of a suspect found in possession of the conductors and other vandalised materials, the suspect was neither arraigned nor interrogated to unravel his criminal network. This action, as you will most respectively agree with our company, is not only criminal but constitutes great act of economic sabotage against the Nigerian state.”

Salisu said that while the government was working to bridge the yawning power gap in Nigeria, institutions of state like the security services had a responsibility to not only protect power assets, but take punitive measures against any threat to the electricity infrastructure.

The NDPHC was incorporated in 2005 by the federal, states and local governments of Nigeria as a fast-track vehicle to increase electricity generation, transmission and distribution for the benefit of the country.