AFTER 9 DAYS… Northern Leaders Kick Over Power Outage

AFTER 9 DAYS… Northern Leaders Kick Over Power Outage

Want region’s challenges addressed | Governors reject Tax Reform Bill, say it’s against interest of North | Tinubu orders immediate restoration of electricity

Written by Jonathan Nda-Isaiah, Isaiah Benjamin, Aza Msue and Nonye Ekwenugo

The Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) and traditional rulers have called for urgent intervention in addressing the current power outage in some northern states.

At a joint meeting in Kaduna yesterday, they noted that the nine days of darkness in most states of the North had caused many economic losses and untold hardship.

According to them, economic hardship is more pronounced in the North than in other parts of the country.

The Northern leaders also said the North-South disparity and economic inequality must be addressed to alleviate the people’s suffering, including the ravaging insecurity and power outage mainly affecting the northern region.

The meeting was part of NSGF’s efforts to engage with key stakeholders and address pressing concerns, especially the lingering insecurity, poverty, out-of-school children, blackout and other socio-economic challenges ravaging the region.

In his remarks, the chairman of the NSGF and Gombe State governor, Inuwa Yahaya, said the region’s collective resolve was being tested by the ongoing challenges faced by the people.

Inuwa listed the region’s challenges as terrorism, banditry, kidnap-for-ransom, farmer-herder clashes, drug abuse, the menace of Almajiri and out-of-school children, poverty and unemployment.

“As we speak today, most of our Northern States are in darkness due to vandalisation of electricity transmission infrastructure. This underscores the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and the need to build additional transmission lines and diversify our energy supply to connect our region better and improve our energy resilience,” he said.

He said the recent “End Bad Governance” protest was a wake-up call for all northern leaders, adding that youth restiveness was a growing concern, driven by illiteracy, poverty, and lack of economic opportunities.

He acknowledged the recent gains made against criminals, especially the elimination of bandits and terror leaders by the military.

“However, we cannot afford complacency. We must sustain these gains to ensure lasting peace and stability. We recently received the report of the Coalition of Northern Group’s Security Committee, and we will study and implement their recommendations carefully. Our engagements with security agencies and civil society groups must continue to chart a sustainable path for peace and stability in northern Nigeria,” he added.

The Northern states’ governors also rejected the Tax Reform Bill recently sent to the National Assembly, saying its content was against the interest of the North and other subnationals.

“Given the preceding, the Forum unanimously rejects the proposed Tax Amendments and calls on members of the National Assembly to oppose any bill that can jeopardise the well-being of our people,” they said.

For his part, the Sultan of Sokoto and chairman of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, said the problem of the North was not lack of solutions or ideas but their effective implementation.

“All Northerners should come together to develop the North. We never lack reports to implement to solve our problems; what we lack is the implementation of such reports. We, the traditional rulers, assure you we are with you on this journey to develop the North. We will not look back, ” he said.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Christopher Musa, who also addressed the meeting, said the Armed Forces were working tirelessly to address the insecurity confronting the North and other parts of the country.

General Musa, however, commended the northern governors and traditional rulers for their support and cooperation in solving the security challenges.

The attendees include governors of Kaduna, Gombe, Zamfara, Nasarawa, Borno, Bauchi, Kwara, and Adamawa states and deputy governors from other northern states.

Others are the Sultan of Sokoto, Shehu of Borno, Umar El-Kanemi; Emir of Zazzau, Nuhu Bamali; Ohinoyi of Ebira land, Etsu Nupe; Yahaya Abubakar; Emir of Kazaure; and Emir of Bauchi, among other traditional Rulers from the North.

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Tinubu Orders Urgent Restoration

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed concern over the blackout in the northern region of Nigeria in the last week.

He is now leading efforts to end the disruption that has paralysed social and economic activities, summoning the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

According to a statement by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, the President has directed the Minister of Power and relevant agencies to speed up the pace of work to restore electricity to all the affected states in the North.

“President Tinubu is saddened by the reports of vandalism and willful destruction of power infrastructure and other public assets that caused the unfortunate blackout.

“In a meeting with the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, who briefed on efforts made by the Transmission Company of Nigeria to repair the damaged Shiroro-Kaduna transmission lines, the President directed a long-term solution to the problem,” the statement said.

President Tinubu charged TCN engineers not to relent in bringing immediate relief to the people who need electricity to sustain their social and economic activities.

President Tinubu also directed the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to work with the Army and Air Force to deploy adequate security personnel, including aerial cover, to protect the engineers who are fixing the damaged transmission line.

President Tinubu implored traditional rulers, community leaders, and other leaders of thought to work with security agencies to protect public assets and infrastructure.

He said the government will no longer condone deliberate sabotage and destruction of public utilities.

ACF Wants State Of Emergency Over Blackout

Apex Northern socio-cultural group Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency regarding the prolonged power outage affecting north Nigeria.

The group warned that the persistent blackout significantly threatened the region’s security and economic well-being.

In a statement issued by its national publicity secretary, Prof Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the Forum expressed grave concern over the power crisis, which has now stretched into its second week and left much of the North in darkness. (LEAFERSHIP)