Sabotage, trade union issues behind power outages, Minister tells Reps committee

The Federal Government has stated that system disturbances and disruptions, not a collapse of the national grid as has been suggested in some circles, are to blame for the recent nationwide experience of epileptic power delivery.

The statement was made on Thursday in Abuja at the House of Representatives Committee on Power investigative hearing by the Minister of State for Power, Mr. Goddy Agba.

A purported repeated national grid meltdown that resulted in ongoing power outages prompted the study.

In 2022, there had not been a single system meltdown, the minister assured the committee.

He emphasized that the current power outages were either the result of human, equipment, or political causes.

The Minister said blackouts experienced in September in particular were acts of sabotage.

He said that in September, there was blackout nationwide for a short while and some youths were seen on social media switching off the system.

“That was not a system collapse. That was a deliberate vandalism. In fact, it was sabotage.

“How can young men go and switch off light thereby putting the nation in blackout just because of some grudges,’’ he queried.

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Agba claimed that he was already in control of the situation and that the blackout was caused by a trade union issue with the power supply system.

Total system disturbances decreased between 2017 and 2021, according to the managing director of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Mr. Sule Abdul’aziz, in his testimony before the hearing.

With each passing year, he claimed, grid stability had improved significantly and consistently.

Dr. Joy Ogaji, executive secretary of the association of power generation companies, also spoke during the session, and she blamed the issue on overly fluctuating load and outdated infrastructure.

She said another reason for incessant outages was weak transmission infrastructure, adding that most of the equipment are over 25 years old.

Rep. Sada Soli (APC-Katsina) responded and voiced his displeasure with the responses and justifications.

He made it clear that none of the responses offered solutions for the issues facing the power sector.

Rep. Magaji Aliyu, the committee’s chairman, in his response, stated that a technical committee would be established to produce a report and offer suggestions for averting future power shortages.

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