By Chibuzor Alli
The Nigeria Customs Service has begun evacuating long-abandoned electricity infrastructure from the country’s ports, releasing 98 containers of power equipment that had remained trapped for periods of up to 20 years.
The development follows a presidential directive by Bola Tinubu ordering the immediate clearance of the consignments after concerns were raised over the prolonged delay in moving critical equipment meant for Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure projects.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Friday in Apapa, Lagos, during the flag-off of the evacuation exercise.
He explained that the affected consignments include high-capacity transformers, power cables, switchgear and other transmission equipment imported by the Federal Ministry of Power and government agencies, including the Transmission Company of Nigeria and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company.
According to Adeniyi, some of the equipment had remained uncleared at the ports for between 14 and 20 years, despite being imported for projects considered critical to the country’s electricity transmission network.
The Customs chief said the President’s intervention followed a presentation by the Minister of Power at the Federal Electricity Council, prompting a directive for relevant agencies to remove administrative and financial obstacles preventing the release of the equipment.
“In line with that presidential directive, this service has commenced the immediate clearance of more than 200 containers of power equipment. Today, I am here with the Honourable Minister of Power to flag off the release of the first 48 containers from ENL Terminal. Another 50 containers at other terminals in Tincan and other ports will also be released,” Adeniyi said.
The initial exercise covers 98 containers, comprising 48 containers from ENL Terminal and another 50 from terminals at Tin Can Island and other port locations.
The Customs Service is working with the Federal Ministry of Power, TCN, Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Nigerian Ports Authority and other stakeholders to complete the evacuation.
Government waives outstanding charges to unlock equipment
Adeniyi said Customs had introduced special clearance arrangements to accelerate the process, including priority processing, dedicated officers for joint examinations and approved waivers on outstanding charges.
He specifically acknowledged the intervention of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, for approving waivers on charges accumulated against the consignments.
The measures are intended to prevent additional administrative and financial delays from keeping the equipment at the ports.
However, not all the recovered materials will necessarily be deployed immediately.
Adeniyi explained that technical experts would first examine the equipment to establish which items remain functional and suitable for use.
Serviceable equipment will be allocated to ongoing and proposed electricity projects, particularly transmission corridors and substations across the country.
Items considered obsolete will instead be disposed of in line with existing regulations.
Customs threatens action over abandoned government projects
Beyond the immediate evacuation, the Customs boss raised concerns about contractors who imported equipment for government projects but subsequently abandoned the consignments at the ports without completing the assignments for which public funds had been committed.
He argued that such failures deprive Nigerians of essential infrastructure, electricity, employment opportunities and other services expected from the projects.
Adeniyi described contractors who collect government payments but fail to deliver their contractual obligations as engaging in economic sabotage.
He also disclosed that Customs would collaborate with the supervising ministry and relevant oversight agencies to identify other government-owned consignments abandoned at ports under similar circumstances.
According to him, the problem extends beyond the electricity sector, with other imports brought into Nigeria by government agencies, international organisations and development institutions also facing prolonged clearance challenges.
“We are not talking about only power sector equipment. We are talking about so many other imports that are brought into our country. We hear of donations, we hear of items that are brought in by international organisations, by global agencies,” Adeniyi stated.
He urged ministries, departments and agencies to work more closely with Customs to ensure that essential equipment and materials do not remain stranded at ports and border stations.
“We urge all ministries, departments and agencies with consignments at ports to engage with Nigeria Customs and Border Protection so that no project critical to national development is held back at our ports or at our border stations,” he said.
Power Minister explains significance of recovered equipment
Earlier, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the abandoned consignments were originally procured to support projects aimed at expanding Nigeria’s electricity transmission network.
He explained that the equipment was intended to ease pressure on overstretched substations, strengthen transmission capacity and improve the delivery of electricity across the country.
The evacuation is therefore expected to provide additional equipment for electricity infrastructure projects, subject to technical assessments and the condition of the recovered materials.
Adeniyi reaffirmed Customs’ commitment to supporting the Federal Government’s efforts to address bottlenecks affecting the power sector and other critical national development projects.
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