Members of communities have been urged to take ownership of electricity installations in their respective areas to guard against sabotage and vandalisation.
The Minister of Power, Mr. Sale Mamman, made the call in a statement by Mr. Aaron Artimas, his Special Adviser, Media and Communications on Tuesday in Abuja.
The minister stated this while receiving Oba Samson Agunbiade 111 of Ipetu-Ijesa Kingdom in Osun, who was on a thank you visit to the Ministry of Power.
Mamman also said that such ownership would guard the installations against natural disasters like erosion and bush burning.
He said that communities taking responsibility for public utilities guarantee steady and uninterrupted electricity supply to their areas.
“The people should raise alarm and report to security officials whenever they see people tampering with power equipment,‘’ he said.
Mamman stated that it was the desire of the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari to supply electricity to every community in Nigeria,
“But the efforts was being constrained by the sabotage and willful damage to electricity installations across the country,’’ he said.
The Minister decried the recent destruction of the power tower supplying electricity to Maiduguri, which was recently restored by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
According to him, this act of desperate and wicked damage of public utilities should not be a justifiable means for any agitation.
Earlier, the traditional ruler explained that his people had endured many years of hardship following the damage of their electrical equipment.
He said following a letter of complaint to the Minister of Power, the Ministry installed seven new transformers and transmission lines to restore power to the community.
Agunbiade, who described his kingdom as the largest in Osun, expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Power and the Federal Government for “this unprecedented intervention”.
“We see this as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to make life better for citizens,” he said.(NAN)
