Governors from Northern Nigeria have expressed their grievances regarding the ongoing power outages in their region and are urging the federal government to take swift action to restore electricity.
During their meeting today, Monday, October 28, in Kaduna with traditional rulers and other stakeholders, the Northern Governors’ Forum emphasized the need to address the blackout affecting millions of people across several states.
“The Forum calls on the Federal Government and relevant agencies to urgently tackle the electricity blackout impacting northern states, largely due to infrastructure vandalism,” the statement said.
The governors said the outages were evidence of the vulnerability of Nigeria’s energy grid. They called for developing new transmission lines and a diversified energy supply to enhance regional resilience.
The blackout, caused by the vandalism of a critical transmission line in the Shiroro-Kaduna corridor, has lasted for about a week now and has resulted in huge economic losses, particularly small businesses that rely heavily on electricity for their daily operations.
The Shiroro area is a flashpoint of Islamist terrorism and other forms of violent groups.
Tinubu Responds
In response, President Bola Tinubu this evening directed the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and relevant agencies to do everything possible to expedite the restoration of power to the area. He also instructed National Security Adviser 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”.
A government spokesman said the president has taken a strong stance against the “deliberate sabotage” of public utilities.
The President also asked traditional and community leaders to work closely with security agencies to protect public assets from further vandalism. The Northern Governors’ Forum echoed this appeal, advocating for cooperation at all levels to safeguard critical infrastructure.
However, according to Ndidi Mbah, General Manager of Public Affairs at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), efforts are underway to restore electricity as quickly as possible despite the security challenges. “We are working diligently to bring back bulk power supply,” Mbah assured.
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