The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, has said terrorists were sabotaging efforts to provide a steady power supply to Nigerians, especially in the North-East region of the country.

Aliyu said the 330 taking power to Maiduguri was vandalised by insurgents, adding that the ministry tried a number of times to restore it but the insurgents would go back and pull down the towers.

The minister made this known while speaking to State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja on Wednesday.

Aliyu, however, said FEC approved projects to shore up power supply across the country, noting that the projects were aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

He said: “I presented two memos to council today which council has approved; the first memo council approved the award of contract for design, supply and installation of 1x60MBA, 132×33 KV transmission substation with associated 4×132 KV line bay extension at Hong Local Government in Adamawa in the sum of N6.5 billion, consisting of two components. One is offshore and onshore.

“The offshore is 6.9 million dollars and the onshore is N3.3 billion at the CBN prevailing exchange rate and 7.5 per cent VAT; the delivery period is 24 months.

“This seeks to raise the capacity of the supply around that area and it’s going to affect so many towns and villages, there’s a very important local government headquarters around that area.

“It is going to affect Song which is a Local Government headquarters in Adamawa state;  Gombi is also another Local Government headquarters; Garkida town and then Hong.

“Then Mubi, Woba, Michika, Madagali. There is an existing 132 that passes through this area; so, what we’re doing now is to drop a substation there.

“The hope is by the time all these interventions we are making on the grid, reaches up to 11,000 or there about, it will be able to withstand and take it off; so, this is the intervention.”

The minister said the second memo also was to procure power transformers and associated spare parts for TCN to be deployed to six locations.

“One is to Aiyede in Oyo; Offshore component 1.8 billion dollars, the onshore is N98 million.

“The second one is Gusau in Zamfara; the third one is Kankia in Katsina State; the next one is Minna, Niger; then the fifth one is to Okearo in Ogun.

“The sixth one is in Damaturu, Yobe; this one is very peculiar because as you may be aware, for over one year, Maiduguri has not been enjoying full electricity.

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“We were able to take electricity supply through an old line of 33 KV which we repaired and restored and were able to take 10 megawatts to Maiduguri over 130 kilometers on a 33 single circuit.

“We restored that around three to four months or thereabout; so they are enjoying but very little; by the time the electricity reaches Maiduguri, it will drop to six or seven megawatts because of losses along the way.”

Speaking on the vandalisation of the 330 taking power by insurgents, Aliyu said: “So, we now decided, in the main time to take electricity through the 33 KVA which they are enjoying but not as they may like it to be. It’s being rationed around the time.

“So, we are currently procuring another 33 double circuit new one to Maiduguri along the same route.

“So the idea is if someone tampers with it, it is easy to restore it within a day or two, unlike the bigger one which is the 330 which takes weeks or months to restore because it’s in the bush.

“So, as it is now even the one that we have installed, we have been doing hide and seek, sometimes they will pull one two poles, we will repair and this is why we are doing this endeavour by the roadside; it is this to keep on restoring back.”

The minister added that at present, the contractor has returned to restore the main line, 330 that was vandalised some time back.

He stated that in order to have enough electricity for Damaturu and environs from that substation in Damaturu, and take some to Maiduguri, the project would boost the capacity of Damaturu substation.

“So, the sixth one which is at the cost of 6.7 million dollars while the local component is N1.3 billion for  the Damaturu upgrade injection transformer.

“So, the total approved for these is the dollar component as 22.6 million dollars and the naira component is N5.1 billion and the council graciously approved the two memos,” Aliyu said.

The Star