The Transmission Company of Nigeria has revealed that it has spent more than N88 billion on fixing damaged infrastructure resulting from vandalism across the country since 2021.
This revelation came during a public sensitisation campaign held at the Odogunyan 132kV Transmission Substation in Ikorodu, Lagos State.
The event aimed to raise awareness about the growing threat of vandalism to power infrastructure and the adverse impact on electricity supply and economic development.
TCN’s Principal Manager for Lines, Engr. Seyi Onabajo, highlighted the alarming financial burden vandalism continues to place on the company.
He stated, “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 further expressed concern over the diversion of government funds meant for system upgrades.
“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 speaking at the event, the General Manager for TCN Lagos Region, Engr. Mojeed Akintola,, commended the support received from local stakeholders.
“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 explained that the public awareness campaigns would now be held quarterly to deepen 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 stressed the long-term effects of vandalism on power delivery, noting, “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 to the call for increased vigilance, CSP Fatoberu Oyekan, the Divisional Police Officer of Ogijo Police Station, advocated for grassroots security initiatives.
“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 continues to seek stronger partnerships with host communities and security agencies in its ongoing efforts to safeguard national power infrastructure.