Nigeria’s national grid infrastructure is heavily deteriorated, and the Ministry of Power does not have an immediate solution to address the persistent failures, FIJ has gathered.

In an interview with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) on Monday, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu revealed that Nigeria’s grid is not only old but also highly vulnerable to breakdowns.

READ MORE: Tinubu, Adelabu Vowed to Resolve Power Grid Crisis. They’ve Failed 10 Times in 17 Months

Power Minister Speaks On Reasons For Incessant Grid Collapse pic.twitter.com/VuBj344kct— NTA News (@NTANewsNow) October 28, 2024

He supported this by referencing the recent system disturbance of the grid. The minister said that the disturbance and the consequent blackout were caused by the explosion of a 47-year-old transformer at Jebba Station.

“Let me tell you, the truth of the matter is we have old infrastructure. We have a national grid that is more than 50 years old. We have a national grid whose transmission lines are weak,” said Adelabu.

“The towers are falling, and the substations, the transformers are old. In fact, the substation that actually collapsed in Jebba was 47 years old. We’ve been trying to revamp this to change them, but they cannot all be changed overnight.”

The blackout on October 20 was yet another incident in a year already marked by multiple grid failures. Just days earlier, the grid had collapsed twice in less than 24 hours. Also, since President Bola Tinubu took office in May 2023, there have been at least 10 grid collapses, seven of which occurred in 2024 alone.

READ MORE: JUST IN: National Grid Suffers ‘Major Setback’ After Collapsing Twice In One Week

These consistent blackouts are occuring despite government promises to improve Nigeria’s power sector.

In a New Year’s address for instance, Tinubu acknowledged the importance of reliable electricity for economic development and pledged to strengthen the national grid.

Adelabu himself had also promised to address the challenges facing the grid upon his assumption of office in August 2023.
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