The federal executive council (FEC) has approved N1.4 billion for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to boost electricity supply in the country.
Abubakar Aliyu, minister of power, said this while briefing journalists after the FEC meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja.
“I presented two memos from the ministry of power for the Transmission Company of Nigeria,” he said.
“The first one was a variation of the sum of a contract for 132/33 KV substation at Kafanchan, Kaduna state, with a KV line base extension at Jos substation, in Plateau state. This is in the sum of N132, 705, 861.42.”
The minister said the second approval was for the supply of handling equipment and operational vehicles also for the TCN at the cost of N1.3 billion.
“The second memo was for the supply of handling equipment, haulage, and operational vehicles for the TCN at N1,338,159,080.88,” he said.
“They are heavy lifting equipment that the TCN requires for doing its work in the store and on the field, while changing equipment and moving transformers. The council graciously approved.
Aliyu said the activities of saboteurs and insecurity in the country are responsible for the current challenges experienced in the power sector.
According to the minister, recent incidents including fatal attacks and abduction of foreign worke rs had delayed progress in completing some projects.
He added that attacks on installations had resulted in major power cuts.
“You’re all aware this country is facing a lot of challenges. It’s not only in the power sector alone, you have just heard about the insecurity. The railway and the communities are being attacked, oil pipelines. They’re all similar things, including the power sector,” the minister said.
“You can call it a sabotage because, how can somebody go and pull down a 330 (megawatt) tower to cause this havoc to the whole country? What do you call that?
“Not quite long, on January 4, the project that we had announced that we’re going to commission, the Zungeru 700 megawatts hydro, which is at present over 92 percent completion, we’re just doing little touches to commission the project.
“There was an attack on January 4 this year, and they abducted the Chinese workers. Up till now, they’re still with the captives. The Chinese cannot return to work until they get their brothers out.
“So, they are working minimally, we have like three sites on the whole project; the main dam, which on the 28th of March we have commissioned one of the turbines and passed it, we did the tests and it has passed, it was celebrated. They are working there in the main hydro.
“Then there is a line of over 30 kilometers to a switchyard. So, they’re not working on the switchyard on the line and if they don’t finish these two, you cannot evacuate. Even the turbine that we have commissioned and tested is just dry testing, you cannot take electricity out because of the line and the tripping point. That’s where the switchyard is and this was where they attacked and killed some people, took away some of them, the foreign workers, about three.
“So, we believe they are all working together, just as the minister of information said.”
The minister, therefore, called for the cooperation of Nigerians in putting an end to the various issues.
He said there is a need to work together as a nation to support the government and face the challenges together.
“Any support you can give, give that support,” he said.
Electricity supply across the nation had suffered multiple setbacks over the past one month. Government had attributed the frequent collapse of the power grid to sabotage.
