Adelabu vows to tackle power sector saboteurs with support of President, NSA

Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has read riot acts to saboteurs working against improvement in power supply and vandalising power facilities to desist, saying his ministry has the support of President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to deal with vandals and saboteurs.

The former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who gave the warning in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Monday, during an inspection of the 46-year-old Ayede sub- regional station in Ibadan as part of his working visit to the state, also decried the level of vandalisation of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) equipments by saboteurs across the country.

The Minister was received by the Managing Director of the TCN, Alhaji Abdulazeez Ahmed; the Acting General Manager, Ayede Distribution Sub Region, Engr. Akinkunmi Olukunmi; the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), Engr. Kingsley Achife; the General Manager, Osogbo Region, Engr. Muhammad Ladan Yankuz, and others.

According to him, the engineering and repositioning of the sector been embarked upon by the present administration is not exciting to the saboteurs who are making money from the menace.

He enjoined the staff of the Ayede sub station to support the administration of President Tinubu in its renewed hope agenda, as well as, expose anybody found in the habit of sabotaging the efforts of the power sector.

He said, “We must live up to expectations. We will not relent until we achieve improvement in power supply. We are working with everyone to protect national assets. We are working with the NSA for adequate protection of power facilities. We can see the saboteurs at work.

“Some people are not happy that we are improving supply, but we cannot be intimidated. They will meet us there. We have the support of the President and the National Security Adviser to deal with saboteurs who are poised to vandalise the nation’s installations, destroying power distribution activities.

“They are not happy about our efforts at repositioning the sector and delivering ourselves from their clutches because that is where they are making money. But we shall not relent. Let no one intimidate you. The rate of destruction going on in the northern part of the country is alarming. These installations being destroyed cost the Federal Government billions of naira to put in place. This is a fight we must fight jointly”.

The Minister also implored the staff of the sub-station to be committed, stating that their efforts would be rewarded.

He added that he would institute a compensation and motivation scheme among power stations where the best three would be rewarded.

“Whatever we can do to improve your welfare to improve on your job, we will do. We are going to implement whatever good suggestions you bring to our attention. Good performance will be rewarded, but more reward means more work”, Adelabu stated.