FG spends over 8 billion to repair v@ndal!zed transmission towers: TCN

Over the last 3 months, there has been a serial destruction of transmission towers across the country, especially in the northern part of the country.

Some of these destructions and v@ndal!zation were one of the causes of the national grid collapse, usually reported by Celebritynote.

FG has made efforts to repair v@ndal!zed transmission towers.

During the Quarterly Power Sector Working Group meeting held in Abuja, Mr. Sule Abdulaziz, The Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) stated that the Federal Government has spent approximately N8.8 billion to repair v@ndal!zed transmission towers across the country.

According to Mr. Abdulaziz, a total of 128 transmission towers had been destroyed by v@ndals between January and November 2024.

He lamented the constant destruction of major power infrastructure, stating that even legal actions could not stop apprehended suspects.

Some of the recent acts of v@ndal!sm include:

• 31 towers along the Benin-Egbin and Benin-Omotosho lines, which required emergency repairs.
• The Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV line with towers 29 to 31 was affected. The v@ndals reportedly stole one-third of the conductor. This led to a disruption to the ongoing repairs that were almost completed.
• Three towers on the Lokoja-Gwagwalada line were v@ndalized, with a lot of aluminum conductors stolen.

“As I talk to you today, 128 of our towers have been destroyed by either v@ndals or b@ndits to date, we have spent about N8.8 billion, by our estimation, to put them back to full and functional use.

“It is so sad that each time the v@ndals were caught and taken to police for prosecution, police would charge them for theft, instead of v@ndal!sm, and they would be bailed.  

”If they are charged for v@ndal!sm, they cannot be bailed, but this is where we are. So, many of them have been arrested, but each time they will be bailed because police often charge their cases as that of theft,” he said