By CONSTANCE ATHEKAME

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, on Friday inaugurated a ministerial committee to end vandalism of power infrastructure.

The minister also held an inaugural meeting with members of the committee in Abuja.

During the meeting, he said that the initiative was part of the Federal Government’s continued efforts to guarantee stable and reliable electricity supply for households, businesses and industry.

Tegbe said that the members of the committee were selected from security and power sector stakeholders, and tasked with ending attacks on assets across the electricity value chain.

“The committee was constituted in response to attacks on generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, which disrupt supply to consumers, increase repair costs and erode the investment on which the sector depends,” he said.

According to him, the mandate of committee includes defining the contribution each institution will make toward a lasting solution.

He said that the committee’s work would be aligned with the critical infrastructure unit of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), and reinforced the treatment of power assets as a national security priority.

During the meeting, participants proposed measures to curb vandalism and outlined the role each office and agency will play.

The participants also resolved to enforce existing laws on vandalism and bring offenders to justice.

Those present at the meeting agreed to deploy technology in protecting national assets, and to use sensitisation and advocacy to prevent incidents before they occur.

All parties pledged to work together to bring the menace to an end.

They agreed to reconvene in the coming week to review progress made.

According to them, effective implementation shall translate into fewer outages caused by attacks on infrastructure and a more dependable supply.

“This should strengthen the protection of public and private investment in power,” they said.

The meeting was attended by the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa, and Directors from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

Also present were the leadership of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the permanent secretary, and directors from the ministry of power and relevant agencies under it.(NAN)