The Nigerian government has attributed the repeated collapse of the national electricity grid to the growing insecurity in the northern region.
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, stated this during the 2025 budget defence session with the Senate Joint Committee on Power.
Adelabu emphasized the importance of repairing the damaged Shiroro-Kaduna-Mando line, which has been out of service since a vandalism incident in October 2024.
The failure has put enormous strain on the grid, resulting in repeated failures.
“The Kaduna-Shiroro-Mando line was one of the two major lines transmitting power to the north. The second, the Ugwuaji-Makurdi line, was also vandalized but has been repaired. The Shiroro-Mando-Kaduna line, however, remains down due to insecurity,” Adelabu explained.
He noted that the collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) is critical to addressing vandalism, which remains one of the most significant challenges facing the power sector.
The minister announced a N2 trillion budget for the ministry and its agencies, out of which N229 billion belongs to the ministry.
He revealed a N700 billion fund allocated to the Power Metering Initiative (PMI), aimed at significantly reducing the metering gap by next month.
Adelabu also disclosed plans to invest N36 billion in the distribution of transformers across the six geopolitical zones.
Additionally, he proposed the installation of solar lights and Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras on highways across the country to enhance security and protect critical infrastructure.
