The Executive Director and Convener of PowerUp Nigeria, Adetayo Adegbemle, has expressed worry over the rising wave of vandalism targeting Nigeria’s power infrastructure.

Mr Adegbemle said this during an interview in Abuja on Monday.

He said it posed a major threat to the country’s electricity supply and economic stability and called for urgent action to tackle the menace.

Mr Adetayo stressed that the destruction of power assets should be treated as economic sabotage and a matter of national security.

“Vandalisation is not limited to the grid infrastructure as we have also been having attacks on distribution transformers,” he said.

According to him, Nigeria needs a coordinated nationwide campaign against vandals, backed by stronger enforcement measures and public participation through whistleblowing initiatives.

“This emphasises that a national campaign is urgently needed against vandalism, and policies like whistleblowing that reward reporting of any suspicious activities around the power sector infrastructure,” he said.

Mr Adegbemle criticised what he described as the routine response to attacks on national assets.

He said authorities must move beyond expressions of concern whenever infrastructure is destroyed.

“We need to go beyond paying lip service and being pained every time these vandals bring any infrastructure down,” he added.

He also called on security agencies to intensify efforts to dismantle networks involved in the trade of vandalised equipment, noting that the activities persist because there were willing buyers.

“The security outfits should also be up and doing because vandalism would not be attractive if there are no buyers,” he told NAN.

He said that alongside stricter laws and improved surveillance, community engagement and public awareness campaigns would play a crucial role in protecting critical national infrastructure from saboteurs.

 (NAN)