By Adeola Akinbobola
The Executive Director and Convener of PowerUp Nigeria, Adetayo Adegbemle, has expressed worry over the rising wave of vandalism targeting Nigeria’s power infrastructure.
Adegbemle said this during an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.
He said the challenge posed a major threat to electricity supply and economic stability of the country and called for urgent action to tackle the menace.
Adegbemle stressed that the destruction of power assets should be treated as economic sabotage and a matter of national security.
“Vandalisation is not limited to the grid infrastructure as we have also been having attacks on distribution transformers,” he told NAN.
According to him, Nigeria needs a coordinated nationwide campaign against vandals, backed by stronger enforcement measures and public participation through whistleblowing initiatives.
“This emphasises that a national campaign is urgently needed against vandalism, and policies like whistleblowing that reward reporting of any suspicious activities around the power sector infrastructure,” he said.
Adegbemle criticised what he described as the routine response to attacks on national assets.
He said authorities must move beyond expressions of concerns whenever infrastructure was destroyed.
“We need to go beyond paying lip service and being pained every time these vandals bring any infrastructure down,” he added.
He also called on security agencies to intensify efforts to dismantle networks involved in the trade of vandalised equipment, noting that the activities persist because there were willing buyers.
“The security outfits should also be up and doing because vandalism would not be attractive if there are no buyers,” he told NAN.
He said alongside stricter laws and improved surveillance, community engagement and public awareness campaigns would play a crucial role in protecting critical national infrastructure from saboteurs. (NAN)(www.nannews)
Edited by Uche Anunne
