Northern Nigeria is facing a massive power outage. Millions of people are affected. In 17 of the country’s 36 states, there has been no electricity on the national grid for two weeks now, after acts of vandalism committed by an armed group, according to the authorities.
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A giant breakdown and cascading consequences. Seen the price of gasolinefor many Nigerians, it is impossible to rely on a generator. The entire economy is disrupted, as is access to drinking water when it comes from boreholes.
At the origin of this giant “black-out”, according to the national operator TCN (Transmission Company of Nigeria): a “ jihadist group “, which damaged a high-voltage line, the one between Shiroro and Mando in Niger State, the state which is home to the largest hydroelectric power plant in the Nigeria.
“ Our infrastructure is old »
An act of vandalism on an already obsolete network. The Minister of Energy, Adebayo Adelabu, speaking to RFI’s Hausa editorial staff, calls on northern Nigerians to be patient.
“ The truth is that our infrastructure is old. We have a national network that is over fifty years old. Transmission lines are weak, towers are collapsing and transformers are old. (…) Changing everything takes time. Regarding the repair time, if we are here, it is also because we have not been able to guarantee the safety of those who work on the network “, he said.
Earlier this week, the governors of the affected states called on the federal government to act. The president Bola Ahmed Tinubu claims to have ordered the deployment of security forces to protect maintenance and repair sites. But according to the Minister of Energy, power will not be restored before mid-November.
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