NewsRescue
We reported on a 5 and then 6 month blackout in Maiduguri in November and December of last year.
Thankfully ahead of the upcoming elections power has been restored to parts of the metropolis.
NewsRescue has been able to confirm this; prior to this the announcements by the Nigerian authorities that power was restored all turned out to be false.
Nigeria’s minister of power who hails from Boko Haram plagued Borno state apparently gave an ultimatum for power to be restored ahead of the February elections. There were a series of protests in Borno state for power as the citizens of the state were frustrated they celebrated a Black December
His press release on PRNigeria:
Borno Blackout: Minister Issues 48 Hours Ultimatum
– Disbands Ad-Hoc Cttee.
Minister of State Power, Hon. Mohammed Wakil has disbanded the Technical Committee on Reconnection of Borno state and issued a forty eight hour ultimatum for reconnecting the state to national grid.
Wakil also directed the Transmission Company of Nigeria to speed up work on the 330/132/33 kv sub station in Damaturu which when completed will improve quality of supply to Borno and Yobe, declaring that ” Borno should have three sources of power supply from the national grid” Following marathon meeting on the black-out crisis, the Minister subsequently took direct charge of the reconnection efforts, insisting that Maiduguri must be reconnected irrespective of security and sabotage challenges facing the state.
The Minister took the decision after high level review of the situation on ground with security and intelligence personnels especially when reports indicated that sabotage and insurgency are twin evils responsible for the persistent blackout.
He told the meeting of disbanded committee held on Friday Afternoon that Borno people are no longer ready to take any further excuses for the continuous black-out, warning that ” sanction will be applied if his directive on reconnection is not effected, ” You have forty eight hours to restore electricity back to Maiduguri. I am taken over directly in term of monitoring and ensuring compliance.
We must deploy on all fronts to restore light. Enough is enough”, the Minister was quoted as informing the committee at the meeting.
The Minister said that the Jonathan led administration will no longer tolerate sabotage from within or outside on the reconnection efforts, directing officials of Transmission Company of Nigeria to hasten the pace of work on the 330/132/33 kv sub station in Damaturu as that facility is to serve the people of Yobe and Borno. ”
Borno state will then get three sources of power namely the 132 kv Gombe – Biu – Damboa – Maiduguri line,the 330 kv new sub station on Damboa road in Maiduguri and the Damaturu 330/132/33kv which should be completed as quickly as possible”. “The era of only one line connecting the state to national grid is over. We must ensure at least three lines of connection to prevent future sabotage and vandalism”, the Minister affirmed.
Olawale Rasheed
SA/Media HMSP