Electricity in Borno will reduce insecurity – Ndume on Tinubu’s N68bn for Maiduguri power plant
Former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume has said President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s approval of the sum of N68 billion operational support to the Maiduguri Emergency Power Plant, MEPP, will help reduce insecurity in the state.
The lawmaker representing Borno South, in a statement on Tuesday, hailed the federal government for responding to the long agitation of the people who have been at the receiving end of prolonged power outages.
Senator Ndume noted that restoration of electricity would add value to the economic life of the people, particularly in the informal sector of the economy.
According to him, with the singular move, the federal government has succeeded in cutting off the supply chain for recruitment of able-bodied men by the terrorists.
He stressed that stable power will also complement the resilient efforts of the military in routing insurgents, whom he noted are agents of darkness and thrive better in environments where there is no visibility, particularly at night.
He said, “I join the Borno State governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, and other well-meaning citizens of my state to express profound gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for this great gesture, aimed at ensuring stable electricity in the state.
“The fund released to the Maiduguri Emergency Power Plant is a lifeline that would ultimately engender economic activities, particularly operations of medium and small-scale enterprises (SMEs).
“As the saying goes, an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. When the informal sector thrives in a place like Borno State, the government would have succeeded in cutting off the supply chain for recruitment of able-bodied men by the terrorists.”
“Apart from that, the stimulus for the seamless operations of our military would have been strengthened.”
The former Senate chief whip, however, called on the relevant federal and state agencies, the military, and the citizenry to ensure that power infrastructures were no longer destroyed, either by insurgents or the nefarious activities of vandals.
“It is to the eternal credit of the federal government that it has responded speedily to our lamentations over the power shortage.
“I urge our people to be vigilant and assist the security agencies in checking the excesses of vandals.
“We owe it a duty to safeguard the facilities, as the benefits of stable electricity are numerous.
“When power is restored, it will boost economic activities and improve livelihoods. It will also strengthen efforts to address security challenges.”
DAILY POST reports that EPP was a presidential intervention initiated in 2021 to mitigate the prolonged power outage caused by insurgents vandalizing power infrastructure, leaving the state without electricity for nearly two years.
The fund will be released in phases of N2 billion monthly in line with OPEX intervention funding from March 2026 to December 2028, totaling N68 billion to bridge the existing funding gap in the operations of the Maiduguri Emergency Power Plant (MEPP).