FG Reconnects Borno To National Grid After Seven Months Of Blackout

After close to one year in total blackout, the Federal Government has
finally reconnected Borno State to the national electricity grid.

This comes on the heels of the issuance of a 48-hour ultimatum by the
Minister of State for Power, Mr. Mohammed Wakil, to officials of the
Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, to reconnect the state despite
security and sabotage challenges.

Insurgents had plunged the northeast state into darkness about seven
months ago when they destroyed power lines and installations, which
supply electricity to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital and environs.
Several efforts to reconnect the state had been thwarted by repeated
vandalism and attacks on officials of TCN and soldiers by Boko Haram
gunmen.

However, a statement from the Federal Ministry of Power on Wednesday
stated that Maiduguri was reconnected on Monday afternoon.

It stated that officials of the power distribution company responsible
for the state as well as engineers from the TCN embarked on checks and
reviews to ensure that the restored electricity was sustained across
the city.

It would be recalled that the minister had last week issued the
48-hour ultimatum, warning that Borno people were no longer ready to
listen to excuses for the blackout.

He, however, apologised to the people of the state for the prolonged
period of blackout and stated that "the last seven months has been a
very painful period. We have experienced great pains in several
attempts to restore electricity to the state.

"A combination of insurgency and sabotage caused the problem in the
first place and kept the state in severe blackout for so long. I
apologise to our people for the long delay in reconnecting the state.
This administration will ensure that this does not happen again.

"I want to inform our people that the President has ordered the
opening of two other new sources of power supply to Borno State. We
have complied with this presidential directive and in due course Borno
will have three sources of power supply".

Wakil further stated that President Goodluck Jonathan had directed
that the ongoing federal power projects in the state be hastened in
order to expand supply and reduce incidences of vandalism to the
barest minimum.
--Infonaija