News

Nigeria’s Electricity Sector Accidents Hits 167

Published

4 years ago

December 27, 2021

By Udeme Akpan

ELECTRICITY accidents in Nigeria’s power sector have dropped by 27 percent to 167 incidents in the first half of 2021, (H1’21), from 228 incidents recorded in the corresponding period of 2020, according the quarterly reports of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC.

The reports obtained by Vanguard, weekend, indicated that the highest incident of 86 were recorded in the second quarter of 2021, while the least of 81 were recorded in the first quarter. The sector also recorded 50 deaths during the period compared to 35 recorded in the corresponding period of 2020, indicating a decrease of 43 percent.

Specifically, the first quarter 2021 report, stated: “The Commission received 81 accident reports from the licenced operators during the first quarter of 2021. The accidents, unfortunately, resulted in 24 deaths and 13 injuries of various degrees involving both employees of the companies and third parties.

“The commission, in line with its mandate to ensure safe and reliable electricity services, has commenced enforcement on some of the incidents involving various safety breaches during the quarter. On account of its zero tolerance on safety breaches in NESI and in line with its strategic goals 2021-2023, the commission has continued to intensify its monitoring and implementation of various safety programmes aimed at reducing accidents in NESI.

“The safety programmes implemented by the commission include, but not limited to, the standardisation of system protection schemes, public enlightenment on the safe use of electricity, a review of an operational procedure for Distribution System Operators, DSO, on fault clearing and engagement of stakeholders on Right of Way, RoW, violation.”The second quarter report also, stated: “During the second quarter of 2021, the Commission received a total of 86 mandatory health and safety reports from licensees.”

However, commenting on the development, Group Managing Director, GMD Sahara Power Group, Kola Adesina, attributed it to population growth and other factors. He said: “Population is growing; consumption is growing, power assets are not growing in the same proportion. Mainly, third party illegal tampering and by pass are the major causes. Badly, we have to keep policing to detect, prevent and restore lines. We can also seek to enforce as well as invest more, especially in projects and programmes Law enforcement and investment.”

Similarly, President, Nigeria Consumer Protection Network, Kunle Olubiyo, who attributed some accidents to vandalism and other factors, said: “The accidents could also be attributed to the planning and construction of properties in the sector and nation. There are cases where cheap materials, including cables culminated in accidents. Illegal wiring and energy theft also lead to accidents in the sector because they over stretch available supply, leading to explosion.”

Recently, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, had disclosed that a fire outbreak caused by a vandalised pipeline along Isheri Olofin, off Igando – LASU expressway in Lagos had caused massive damage to 330kV Ikeja-West Akangba transmission line 1, leading to the collapse of five power towers.

A statement by TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, explained that the inferno burnt off a large portion of the conductor. “This triggered a resistant pull on the high-tension towers along the line route causing five of them to collapse”, she added.

Mbah stated that the incident which “is estimated to have occurred at about 00.29 in the early hours of Friday, burnt a wide portion of the 330kV transmission line which wheels 145MW of bulk power to the Akangba Substation. The transmission towers affected are the two closest to the site of the incident and three across the Lagos Canal.

“As a result of the incident, there is a major reduction of bulk power wheeled to TCN’s 330/132/33kV Akangba Transmission Substation in Lagos, however, due to the fact that the substation takes supply from two different 330kV transmission lines, with the second being the redundant line, TCN will rearrange bulk electricity transmitted on that line route to the second 330kV previously carrying 59MW”.

He noted that TCN was successfully back-feeding the substations affected by the towers collapse, while the engineers were patrolling the second 330kV transmission line that tripped due to the incident, to ensure it has no fault before it is energised. “Once it is energised, supply will be restored to all the substations affected by the incident from the second 330kV transmission line, as the load carried by the burnt 330kV line will now be transferred to the second line.

“This kind of incident is a major setback to the implementation of our grid expansion and stability under our well-articulated Electricity Grid Maintenance, Expansion and Rehabilitation Programme. This is because the re-erection of five towers and restringing of the 330kV transmission line is a major project that costs a lot of money and will take a while to complete”.

TCN appealed to “Nigerians to desist from activities such as oil bunkering, and other destructive tendencies, as they all have very far-reaching negative effects on the nation at large. The issue of protecting our national assets is imperative. Protecting national assets is one that must be taken very seriously so that the stability of the nation’s network and the development of the nation is not compromised”.

News

Bumper Harvest: Foundation Distributes 6,000 Fertilizers To Farmers In Bauchi

Published

5 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

A group, Wunti Al-Khair Foundation has donated 6,000 50kg bags of fertilizer to farmers in Bauchi state in order to have a bumper harvest.

Speaking during the flag off ceremony of the distribution of the fertilizers on Thursday, Mr Abubakar Mohammed, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Wunti Al-Khair Foundation, said the distribution was only for the indigent farmers in the state.

He said the fertilizers would be distributed to farmers in underserved communities across the three Senatorial Districts of the state.

“We are gathered here to flag off the free distribution of fertilizers to farmers, especially the indigent farmers that don’t have the means to buy fertilizer for their farms.

“That is the reason why the founder of this foundation bought the fertilizers and distributed them to the low income farmers in the state.

“We have gone round the nooks and crannies of the state to identify the underserved communities and those that deserve this particular gesture.

“We planned to distribute about 6,000 bags of fertilizer and due to the populous nature of the Bauchi LGA, they have the largest share but some other local governments too have hundreds of beneficiaries which we divided into Senatorial zones,” he said.

According to him, today was the flagging off of the Bauchi South Senatorial District, adding that the extension of the gesture would commence in Bauchi North and Bauchi Central Senatorial Districts tomorrow.

Mohammed explained that the only criteria used in selecting the beneficiaries were underserved communities and low income farmers, adding that “we know that a large number of the farmers in Bauchi state are low income farmers.

“Those are the people that we identified, verified and they are our beneficiaries and we have warned the general public about the activities of some unscrupulous elements that go round to impersonate our foundation.

“Wunti Al-Khair Foundation is not charging a kobo for every part of its activities, be it education, healthcare, economic empowerment and community development”.

Responding, one of the beneficiaries, Emmanuel Samson, described the support as a timely intervention that would greatly enhance his farming activities and appreciated the foundation for the intervention.

Another beneficiary, Salisu Maidawa, who was short of words for the gesture, said the gesture came at a time when he was in dire need of it.

News

IYC Urges Tinubu To Sack NCDMB Boss

Published

5 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Western Zone, has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately sack Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for allegedly not “keeping up to the fundamental mandate,” upon which the agency was established.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Comrade Nicholas Igarama, Comrade Ebi Joshua Olowolayemo, and Comrade Tare Magbei, Western Zone
Chairman, Secretary, and Information Officer respectively, and made available to newsmen in Warri on Thursday, August 14, 2015.

According to the IYC, the call for Ogbe’s sack becomes necessary following his incompetence and ethnic bias, adding that Ogbe has turned the agency meant for the whole Niger Delta to his Itsekiri ethnic group alone.

The IYC, while noting that efforts to meet the NCDMB Executive Secretary to discuss critical issues as they affect the region and its people have proved abortive, said it can no longer fold it arms and watch while things go from bad to worse.

“As Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Ogbe has consistently failed to input his supposed industry track record in the advancement of the mandate upon which the agency was founded.

“He has continually had a sectional engagement with his fellow Itsekiri Kits and Kin, thereby shutting all other ethnic nationalites in the Niger Delta region out.

“Repeatedly, he avoided critical youth engagement in the region while sponsoring that of his Itsekiri ethnicity through different human capacity development initiatives, while other ethnic nationalites are left unattended.

“As Ijaw, mostly from the western flank where Engr. Ogbe also hails from, we will not sit and watch others benefit from the resources that we produce without our practical involvement to better the lives of our people as well.

“It is on record that the leadership of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Western Zone has tried to establish communication with Engr. Ogbe, for the last ten months, but every medium of communication to get his attention has fundamentally proven to be abortive.

“As youths, we can no longer have leaders in office who have now equated themselves to demi-god and have refused to attend to most significantly youthful issues in the Niger Delta Region.

“To this end, we therefore call on President Bola Ahmed Tinibu to immediately sack Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, who has consistently displayed disregard for critical actors in the Niger Delta and has also exhibited the highest level of gross inefficiency by not keeping up to the fundamental mandate upon which NCDMB was founded,” the statement reads.

The IYC also called for the probe Ogbe as Executive Secretary after his sack.

Efforts to reach Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, NCDMB, for reaction proved abortive.

News

I’m Being Impersonated – Goodluck Jonathan Disowns Social Media Account

Published

7 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday said he is being impersonated by fraudsters.

Jonathan alleged that a fraudulent Instagram handle has been impersonating him.

In a statement by his Media Aide,
Ikechukwu Eze, the former President insisted that he does not operate any Instagram handle.

The statement is titled ‘Beware of fake Instagram account impersonating H.E. Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’.

“Our attention has been drawn to a fraudulent Instagram account operating under the handle goodluck_ebelejonathan, which is falsely impersonating former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

“This impostor account has been deceitfully posting content, some copied from Dr. Jonathan’s Facebook page, while pretending to represent the former President.

“We wish to emphasise that Dr. Jonathan does not operate any Instagram account.

“The media and members of the public are strongly advised to disregard, avoid sharing, or promoting any content originating from this fake profile,” the statement read.