The minister of power, Mr Joseph Tegbe has convened a ministerial committee on the prevention of vandalism of power infrastructure as parts of efforts to guarantee stable and reliable supply for households, businesses and industry.
The committee brings together security and power sector stakeholders and is tasked with ending attacks on assets across the electricity value chain.
The committee was constituted in response to attacks on generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, which disrupt supply, increase repair costs and erode sector investments. Its mandate also includes defining the contribution of each institution toward a lasting solution.
The inaugural meeting was attended by the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Maj.-Gen. Adeyinka Famadewa, directors from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the leadership of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Permanent Secretary and directors from the Ministry and relevant agencies under the Ministry of Power.
The committee’s work will be aligned with the critical infrastructure unit of ONSA, reinforcing the treatment of power assets as a national security priority.
Participants proposed measures to curb vandalism and outlined the role each office and agency would play.
They resolved to enforce existing laws on vandalism and bring offenders to justice, deploy technology in protecting national assets, and use sensitisation and advocacy to prevent incidents.
All parties pledged to work together to end the menace.
The committee will reconvene next week to review progress. Effective implementation is expected to translate into fewer outages caused by attacks on infrastructure and more dependable supply, and strengthen protection of public and private investment in the power sector.
