The Transmission Company of Nigeria has disclosed that it has expended over N88 billion repairing infrastructure damaged by acts of vandalism across the country since 2021.
The disclosure was made during a public sensitisation campaign held at the Odogunyan 132kV Transmission Substation in Ikorodu, Lagos State, aimed at addressing the growing threat of vandalism to power infrastructure and its negative impact on electricity supply and economic growth.
Speaking at the event, TCN’s Principal Manager for Lines, Engr. Seyi Onabajo, decried the rising financial toll vandalism continues to exact on the company.
“This is a wake-up call for the whole community and beyond to protect TCN infrastructures and report cases of vandalism to the appropriate authorities,” he said.
Onabajo noted that the recurrent diversion of funds intended for system upgrades to repair vandalised towers was unsustainable.
“We cannot continue to spend so much on repair of vandalised power towers, as the cost of building a tower from scratch is cheaper than the cost of repairing it,” he added.
Also addressing the gathering, the General Manager of TCN Lagos Region, Engr. Mojeed Akintola, acknowledged the support received from local partners in efforts to curb the menace.
“So far, we are delighted with the response received from the community leaders, the security agencies, which include the Nigerian police and civil defence, steel companies around Ikorodu and some key community members,” he stated.
He explained that the sensitisation drive would now be conducted on a quarterly basis to sustain community engagement.
“This level of awareness will be done quarterly; we will engage our local management to reach out to more community leaders and stakeholders around the area. However, Ikorodu has been slated for upgrade, but when there is a report of vandalism, the funds for those upgrades will be channelled to repair. Most times, these repairs take up to three to four months before they are completed, leaving communities without a power supply.”
Akintola further emphasized the long-term consequences of vandalism on electricity supply and national development.
“The engagement with these communities is important, as they will help in spreading the news across other communities in the fight against vandalism. We have explained that once a tower is vandalised, the downtime is usually high, leaving a negative impact on our economy. The amount spent on repair is over triple the initial cost, and some of the repairs done are not budgeted.”
Adding his voice to the campaign, CSP Fatoberu Oyekan, Divisional Police Officer of Ogijo Police Station, urged the company to invest in grassroots security measures.
“I want to advise TCN in providing local vigilantes to mount surveillance on TCN infrastructures. These vigilantes will be stationed in different communities. Together with the joint effort of community leaders, vandalism will be eradicated in our community,” he said.
The TCN reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening collaborations with host communities and security agencies in safeguarding the nation’s power infrastructure.
