The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, said it has expended over N88 billion on repairs of vandalised infrastructure from 2021 to date nationwide.
Speaking at the public sensitisation on the ills of vandalism of TCN infrastructure at the Odogunyan 132 kV Transmission Substation in Ikorodu, TCN’s Principal Manager, Lines, Engr Seyi Onabajo, noted that taxes meant to be paid to the government to rebuild and upgrade the power system are now being used for repairs of the damages.
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.” ‘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, General Manager of the TCN Lagos region, Engr. Mojeed Akintola, stated, “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.
“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.
“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.”
On his part, Divisional Police Officer of Ogijo Police Station, CSP Fatoberu Oyekan, harped on community policing whereby community heads and other security agencies partner and report suspicious activities around TCN towers.
“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 added.
