FG Begins Evacuation of Abandoned Power Equipment at Lagos Ports

The Federal Government has commenced the release and evacuation of 98 containers of electricity transmission equipment stranded at Nigerian ports for between 14 and 20 years.

The exercise, being coordinated by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Federal Ministry of Power, follows a directive by President Bola Tinubu to remove administrative and financial obstacles delaying the release of the equipment.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, announced the development on Friday during a meeting with the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, at the Apapa Customs Command in Lagos.

Adeniyi said the first batch of 44 containers was released at the ENL Consortium Terminal and APM Terminals, with the consignments loaded onto trucks for transportation to project locations in Kaduna, Osun, Nasarawa and Cross River states.

He added that another 54 containers at other terminals, including facilities in Tin Can Island, would be released as the exercise progressed.

The abandoned consignments, originally imported for electricity transmission projects through the Federal Ministry of Power and agencies such as the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), contain high-capacity transformers, high-tension wires, cables, switchgear, conductors and other power infrastructure materials.

According to Adeniyi, the equipment remained uncleared because of accumulated charges and administrative delays. He said the President directed relevant agencies to resolve the outstanding issues after the Minister of Power presented the matter to the Federal Executive Council.

Customs has introduced priority processing, dedicated officers for joint examinations and approved waivers on accumulated charges to accelerate the evacuation.

The Customs chief also expressed concern over contractors who imported equipment for government projects but abandoned the consignments at the ports without completing the projects.

He said the service would collaborate with relevant agencies to identify contractors responsible for such failures and ensure accountability.

Tegbe explained that the equipment was procured to expand the national transmission network, reduce pressure on overloaded substations and improve electricity delivery from generation facilities to consumers.

He said technical teams would assess the condition of the materials after evacuation, with serviceable items deployed to ongoing and stalled projects, while obsolete equipment would be disposed of in accordance with established regulations.

The minister noted that the prolonged delay had affected the implementation of transmission projects and limited the capacity of existing infrastructure to distribute electricity efficiently.

He commended Customs for facilitating the release, adding that the government would continue working to evacuate other stranded equipment at ports across the country.