A group in Northern Nigeria under the auspices of Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, has berated Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, and other sector players for over five days power outage across the northern States. The Coalition expressed its displeasure in a statement signed by the National Coordinator, CNG, Comrade Jamilu Charanchi. According to Charanchi, patients are dying in hospitals without alternative power sources, while many are at critical conditions as oxygen machines have stopped servicing them. He said “the Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, is deeply concerned by the ongoing power outage that has paralysed large parts of Northern Nigeria over the past five days. This unprecedented blackout has thrown millions of households into darkness, crippled businesses, and worsened the already dire economic situation in the region.
“CNG reliably gathers that patients are already dying at various hospitals due to unavailability of the hospitals to supply alternative means of power to utilise Oxygens to save lives of the patients in severe and critical conditions. Preliminary findings by the CNG indicate that this outage is the direct result of vandalism on the second Shiroro power line, which feeds the crucial Kaduna Station that distributes to other states in the North. We learnt too that the first other line has been faulty for months. Yet, no effort to fix it could have saved the current avoidable situation.
We are particularly disheartened to learn that two towers along this line have not received serious attention at the beginning of the problem to promptly restore power.
“Furthermore, the only alternative source of supply, the Jos line, has repeatedly tripped, which the TCN currently said is working to fix, but cannot bring about a lasting solution. The current state of affairs is not just unacceptable but deeply alarming. Lack of Transmission Capacity for the North West and North East; The CNG, after engaging with experts, learnt that there is also a significant infrastructural gap as there is no transmission system to carry sufficient power to the North West and North East regions.” Meanwhile, the Coalition accused the Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Programme, TREP, of failure to meet its mandate after a budget of $1.661 billion to execute the project. “Despite the establishment of the Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Programme (TREP), aimed at creating flexibility in transmission with a budget of $1.661 billion, mismanagement has hindered its progress. Additionally, over $500 million in savings, intended to support the Eastern Backbone transmission project—which would have connected key areas such as Sokoto, Kaura Namoda, Katsina, and beyond—has been mismanaged, further delaying essential connectivity”, he said. He further alleged that, “With the destruction of the two 330kV Single Circuit (SC) lines between Shiroro and Kaduna, only one single circuit from Jos to Kaduna now supplies the entire North West. Similarly, the North East depends on a single circuit line, the Jos-Gombe 330kV, meaning both regions face severe limitations in power transmission infrastructure.
The CNG observed that the North, which accounts for a significant portion of Nigeria’s population and economic activity, is shamefully underserved in terms of electricity infrastructure and distribution. The region relies on only two 330kV lines, while Lagos alone benefits from eight power lines.
“This disparity reflects a pattern of long-standing neglect and imbalance in national power infrastructure investment. In addition, the current DisCo Load Allocation is alarmingly skewed. DisCos operating across the North—including Jos (60 MW), Kaduna (50 MW), Kano (20 MW), and Yola (30 MW)—receive only 160 MW out of the existing 4,249 MW capacity. In stark contrast, Lagos’s Eko and Ikeja DisCos cumulatively receive about 1,400 MW, while Ibadan, Benin, Enugu, and Port Harcourt also benefit from significantly higher allocations. This allocation imbalance not only limits the North’s development potential but also reveals a pattern of systematic neglect.
“The Need for Immediate and Comprehensive Action; this current outage has, in the last 120 hours, pushed our already struggling industries to the brink of collapse, with businesses suffocating under prolonged power failure. Our people, who are already grappling with economic challenges, cannot continue to bear the brunt of such systemic inefficiencies. Hospitals can no longer save lives but allow patients to die helpless. To quote Professor Uwaifo, “If you want to destroy a region, destroy its electric power supply. If you want to hold a region to a lower standard of living, you can do it by placing a limit on its supply of electric power.”. This implies that some people are determined to destroy our region and keep us the poverty capital of the world through lowering our standard of living by deny our business, hospitals and industries access to electricity. The CNG calls on the Federal Government, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), northern governors, lawmakers and all relevant stakeholders to immediately expedite efforts to ensure power is restored to the North. This unacceptable outage must be treated with the urgency it deserves.
“We also demand a comprehensive review of the current electricity distribution framework to ensure fair and equitable access to power across all regions of the country. We call on the FG, TCN, and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to explain the rationale behind this lopsided allocation, given that the North is home to most of Nigeria’s hydropower stations. It is incomprehensible that the North is left with a minimal share of national power, especially considering the region’s critical role in the country’s power generation infrastructure. An urgent call for Northern Power Infrastructure Investment; The CNG calls for increased investment in Northern Nigeria’s power infrastructure, especially in distribution. The current situation glaringly shows that the North has been left behind for too long, with insufficient electricity to meet the needs of its people and economy. We will not stand idly by while the region is further marginalised. Recall that the CNG had in 2022 faulted the then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for proposed sales of some power plants that were being held by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) for country. Meanwhile, the funds used in the establishment of the power plants included contributions from all states and local governments from the North with the agreement of replicating similar power plants development in the North.