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Involves ONSA for protection
From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
The federal government is paying serious attention to the vandalism of critical power infrastructure, to the extent that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has involved the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) for protection.
Consequently, a delegation from ONSA today paid a courtesy visit to the Chairman of NERC, Musiliu Oseni, in Abuja, with a view to seeking ways to end the wanton destruction of the infrastructure.
During the discussion, both agencies pledged closer collaboration to protect critical power infrastructure.
The meeting focused on addressing the rising incidence of vandalism and sabotage affecting the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), which has continued to undermine grid stability and power delivery nationwide.
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Welcoming the ONSA delegation, Oseni acknowledged the agency’s role in safeguarding national power assets and stressed that sustained inter-agency co-operation is key to tackling infrastructure attacks.
He said that stronger coordination between NERC and ONSA would be central to improving the security of electricity facilities and boosting the reliability of supply for households and businesses across the country.
The Director of Critical National Assets and Infrastructure Protection at ONSA, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Enebong Effiom, echoed the call for deeper partnership. He noted that protecting assets within the power sector requires continuous information sharing and joint operational planning between regulators, security agencies and industry operators.
The two sides agreed on several immediate steps to strengthen the response to vandalism. Key outcomes include the establishment of a joint stakeholders’ forum, the creation of a shared database tracking assets, vandalism incidents and infraction reports to better assess threat levels, and the rollout of a reporting platform designed to enable faster incident reporting, arrests and prosecution of offenders.
