President Bola Tinubu has directed the immediate clearance of more than 300 containers of electricity equipment that have remained at Nigerian ports for years, with some reportedly stranded for between 14 and 20 years.
The Minister of Power, Olasunkanmi Tegbe, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.
Tegbe said the President had directed the Ministry of Power to work with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to resolve outstanding charges and customs-related issues delaying the release of the containers.
He described the prolonged detention of the equipment as unacceptable, noting that previous administrations had failed to settle the relevant charges and complete the necessary clearance procedures.
According to the minister, the government would reconcile outstanding payments where necessary to facilitate the release of the equipment.
However, he said the materials would undergo technical assessments after clearance to establish their condition and determine whether they could still be used.
Equipment found to be serviceable would be deployed to ongoing electricity infrastructure projects, while obsolete or unusable materials would be handled appropriately.
Tegbe did not disclose the total value of the stranded equipment, the amount required to settle the outstanding charges or the deadline for completing the clearance exercise.
The directive forms part of the Federal Government’s broader efforts to address weaknesses in Nigeria’s electricity transmission network and improve the use of available power infrastructure.
The minister also announced that the Federal Executive Council had approved the commencement of procurement for the proposed East and West Super Grids, which are expected to increase Nigeria’s electricity transmission capacity from about 5,000 megawatts to 19,000MW within two years.
He said the proposed grids would strengthen transmission links between different parts of the country and enable the national network to accommodate more electricity.
According to Tegbe, the projects would connect strategic transmission corridors, including routes extending from Sokoto through Abuja to other locations.
He described the procurement approval as an important step towards improving the capacity and resilience of the national electricity network.
Tegbe further announced three FEC approvals aimed at addressing transmission constraints in Abuja, Lagos and the Lagos-Shagamu industrial corridor.
One project involves constructing a 33kV double-circuit underground and overhead transmission line connected to the Katampe Transmission Substation.
