For nearly 20 years, over 300 containers of transmission equipment sat stranded at Nigerian ports. The equipment was bought to expand the network, relieve overloaded substations and bring more reliable electricity to Nigerians. That long wait is now beginning to end.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, has announced that the Nigeria Customs Service has approved the release of the first 98 containers. He disclosed that 44 containers were released from ENL Terminal, while another 54 were cleared from APMT and Sun and Moon Terminals in Lagos.

The 98 containers represent the first batch of more than 300 containers held at the ports.

The consignments contain high capacity transformers, electrical cables, switchgear and other materials originally procured for transmission projects but left uncleared at Apapa, Tin Can Island and other ports for between 14 and 20 years. Tegbe said the prolonged detention had stalled critical projects, left existing substations under pressure, exposed valuable assets to deterioration and resulted in accumulated charges.

Tegbe said engineers of the Transmission Company of Nigeria will now verify the equipment, test it and deploy it where it is needed most. He said that means completing stalled projects, easing pressure on overloaded substations and strengthening the grid. Following inspection, most of the recovered equipment was found to be useful and viable.

He said some materials have already been identified for transmission projects in Kaduna, Ajaokuta, Lokoja and Enugu, following preliminary assessments by engineers. The equipment is expected to strengthen substations, improve voltage performance and increase the network capacity to evacuate electricity from power plants to consumers.

The release followed a presentation by Tegbe to the Federal Executive Council, prompting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct relevant agencies to resolve outstanding charges and administrative bottlenecks. Customs has introduced priority clearance, dedicated examination officers and waivers on accumulated charges to facilitate the evacuation.

Tegbe thanked the President, the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, the Nigerian Ports Authority, terminal operators and the TCN team for their support.

Tegbe described the release as a significant first step, saying the government is working to secure the release of the remaining 200 plus containers without further delay. He said the government is targeting the evacuation of the remaining consignments within one month and will introduce tighter coordination between procurement and project implementation to prevent similar cases. He added, A stronger grid, one step at a time.