Several areas in Rivers and Bayelsa states face the prospect of prolonged power outages after vandals destroyed thirteen transmission towers operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) along the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV Double Circuit line.
Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s General Manager of Public Affairs, announced this development in a statement on Wednesday, urging the state governments of Rivers and Bayelsa to support efforts to curb the escalating vandalism of critical infrastructure.
This recent act of vandalism follows previous damage to the same Ahoada-Yenagoa transmission line.
The company noted that a new contract had been recently awarded to reinforce towers 19-31 on the line, where tower components had already been stolen or damaged.
“Despite these ongoing efforts, the recent destruction of thirteen towers poses a serious challenge to TCN,” the statement read.
The damaged towers are located in various communities, including Okobe in Ahoada East, Emezhi 1 and Mbiama in Ahoada West Local Government Areas of Rivers State, and the Igbogene community in Bayelsa State.
Given the extensive damage and the ongoing repairs to previously vandalized towers, TCN warned that it could take several months to rebuild and restring the towers, which are essential for restoring power supply to the affected areas.
TCN called for increased cooperation between security agencies and local communities to address the rising incidents of vandalism affecting critical electricity infrastructure.
