Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, briefed President Bola Tinubu on Monday regarding the ongoing electricity outage affecting large parts of northern Nigeria, now in its second week.
The disruption is due to vandalism of key transmission infrastructure, Adelabu said.
Speaking to reporters after the briefing, Adelabu explained that the root cause was the vandalization of the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line, a critical supply line for the region.
“The major line that supplies electricity to the North was vandalized, which is why we are seeing this prolonged blackout,” Adelabu stated.
The minister assured that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had pinpointed the issues and that engineers are currently working to repair the damage.
In response to security concerns, the National Security Adviser, along with the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Staff, has deployed personnel to protect repair teams.
“We have received the necessary security cover to allow our engineers to access the area and begin restoration. We’re optimistic that the repairs will be completed soon,” he said.
The outages have impacted communities where armed banditry is common, with bandits frequently engaging in violent crimes including kidnapping and attacks on residents.
Looking to prevent similar issues, Adelabu outlined plans for a long-term energy solution for northern Nigeria, focused on localized solar energy plants.
“We believe the most effective way of providing stable, reliable electricity to the northern region is through distributed power models with embedded utilities and solar sources in each northern state,” he said.
Adelabu’s briefing underscores the government’s efforts to secure critical infrastructure and to explore sustainable solutions for stable power in northern Nigeria.
