Sodipo Olawumi: Tinubu, gridlock at the docks and Nigeria’s power sector

President Bola Tinubu last week ordered the immediate clearance of more than 300 containers of electricity equipment that had been stranded at Nigerian ports for between 14 and 20 years.

The Minister of Power, Olasunkanmi Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting at the State House.

These are not empty containers. They contain critical grid infrastructure, including high-capacity transformers, cables, switchgear and other transmission equipment meant to strengthen the national grid.

Minister Tegbe said: “Those containers are not empty containers. It is appalling to see that we find ourselves in such situations.”

The equipment was imported by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Power and the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, under various electricity projects over the years, including the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), TCN donor-funded projects and the Presidential Power Initiative.

The Minister confirmed that the high-capacity transformers had to be manufactured abroad because Nigeria lacked the specialised industrial capacity to produce equipment of that specification. Consequently, they were imported from manufacturers in China, Germany and other countries.

The equipment was intended for nationwide transmission expansion and grid stabilisation, including the new East and West Super Grids, which are expected to increase transmission capacity from 5,000MW to 19,000MW, as well as upgrades along the Lagos–Enugu–Port Harcourt and Abuja–Kaduna–Kano corridors.

As a result of the prolonged delay, substations such as Katampe and Ikeja West, among others, were completed but never energised. The 20-year delay was a consequence of administrative failure and gross negligence.

According to the Minister, the delays were caused by previous administrations’ failure to settle outstanding port charges and complete routine customs procedures. These included unpaid charges to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), incomplete customs clearance processes at the Nigeria Customs Service and a lack of coordination among the Ministry of Power, NPA and Customs.

Consequently, the equipment was abandoned at Apapa, Onne and other ports while Nigerians continued to endure persistent electricity shortages.

Some of the containers have been stranded since the 2006–2012 period, spanning the administrations of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari.

Nigeria paid for the equipment and borrowed money to finance its procurement, only to leave it stranded at the ports while continuing to incur demurrage charges.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has directed the Ministry of Power to work with the NPA and the Nigeria Customs Service to settle all outstanding charges and facilitate the clearance of the containers.

Technical experts will open and audit each container to determine which equipment remains usable and which has become obsolete after nearly two decades. Usable equipment will be deployed to ongoing projects, while obsolete items will be disposed of.

Honestly, this explains why Nigeria has a generation capacity of about 13,000MW but can transmit only around 5,000MW. The equipment needed to transmit electricity has been locked away at the ports for nearly 20 years while the country continues to hold national prayers for stable electricity.

Unlocking these containers is a welcome and long-overdue step. However, true progress will only be measured by how quickly this critical equipment is deployed to light up homes, power industries and permanently break the cycle of darkness.

Sodipo Olawumi is a public commentator.