*TCN raises alarm over vandalization of towers at Borno, Yobe, others
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu has warned against vandalization of Power Transmission Tower across the country.
The minister handed down the warning in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan over the vandalization of Power Transmission Tower at Borno, Yobe and parts of the North.
According to the minister, it is time Nigerians stopped being their own worst enemy, saying the vandals should stop the act of deliberate sabotage that could hinder government’s efforts in providing regular electricity supply to Nigerians.
“We should not continue to be our own worst enemy. Nigerians should also protect government assets in their areas”, he said .
The minister added, “a comprehensive plan to protect the facilities would soon be unveiled. We are also working on an appropriate legislation to tackle the menace of vandalism”.
Also, the General Manager, Public Affairs of TCN, Ndidi Mbah, has alerted that suspected vandals have brought down one of the towers of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), tower T372 around Katsaita Village in Yobe State, bringing down the 330kV transmission tower which pulled down tower T373 along the same transmission line route on Thursday.
Mbah stressed that the incident, which took place at about 21:18, caused the failure of power supply to parts of the North East, namely, Yobe and Borno States
.“While patrolling the line to ascertain the cause of the cut in power supply, TCN engineers discovered the fallen towers, and the villagers confirmed they heard a loud explosion before the tower came down”, he said.
Mbah added, ” On closer investigation, the engineers found evidence of explosive used by the vandals in bringing down the towers.
” TCN has mobilized one of its contractors to the site of the incident to commence the reconstruction of the transmission towers damaged by the vandals, according to the company”.
