The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has established a ministerial committee involving security agencies and electricity sector stakeholders to tackle the vandalism of power infrastructure across Nigeria.
The committee is expected to develop a coordinated strategy to prevent attacks on electricity generation, transmission and distribution assets, which have repeatedly disrupted supply and forced the government to spend billions of naira on repairs.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Ministry of Power said the initiative formed part of ongoing efforts to ensure stable and reliable electricity supply to households, businesses and industries.
The ministry explained that attacks on electricity infrastructure disrupt services to consumers, increase maintenance costs and undermine investments needed to improve the power sector.
The statement read, “As part of continuing efforts to guarantee stable and reliable electricity supply for households, businesses and industry, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has convened a ministerial committee on the prevention of vandalism of power infrastructure. 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 to consumers, increase repair costs and erode the investment on which the sector depends. Its mandate also includes defining the contribution each institution will make toward a lasting solution.”
According to the ministry, the committee will clarify the responsibilities of participating institutions to ensure a coordinated and sustained response to the problem.
The inaugural meeting was attended by the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka A. Famadewa; directors from the Office of the National Security Adviser; the leadership of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps; the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power; and directors from the ministry and relevant agencies.
The committee’s activities will be aligned with the critical infrastructure unit of the Office of the National Security Adviser, underscoring the government’s position that protecting electricity assets is a national security priority.
During the meeting, participants proposed measures to prevent further attacks and outlined the responsibilities of their respective offices and agencies.
They agreed to enforce existing laws against vandalism, ensure that offenders are prosecuted, deploy technology to protect critical national assets and intensify public sensitisation and advocacy campaigns to discourage attacks.
The participants also pledged to strengthen cooperation among their agencies to address the persistent threat to electricity infrastructure.
The committee is scheduled to reconvene next week to review progress and assess the implementation of the proposed measures.
