The Nigeria Customs Service has started releasing and moving 98 out of 300 containers containing electricity equipment that have remained stranded at seaports for up to twenty years. The exercise officially kicked off on Friday at Apapa in Lagos, according to a report by Punch.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, explained that the goods include high-voltage transformers, switchgear, cables, and various transmission materials. These items were originally brought into the country by the Federal Ministry of Power and affiliated bodies, such as the Transmission Company of Nigeria and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company.
Adeniyi stated that the ongoing evacuation follows a directive from President Bola Tinubu, who ordered government institutions to clear administrative delays and resolve accumulated port charges. The initial phase involves forty-eight containers departing from the ENL Terminal, while an additional fifty containers will be taken from facilities in Tin Can Island and nearby ports.
Technical specialists are set to evaluate the cargo before moving usable parts to ongoing and planned electricity installations across the nation. Adeniyi noted that equipment deemed damaged or obsolete will be discarded based on official civil service guidelines.
Adeniyi also called out contractors who secured funding for public projects but abandoned the imported materials at maritime gates, describing such actions as economic sabotage. He commended the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, for authorizing fee waivers to ease the movement of the stranded items.
Speaking on the exercise, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, noted that the consignments were purchased to expand the national grid, ease pressure on existing substations, and boost nationwide electricity supply.
Customs affirmed that it is working alongside the Nigerian Ports Authority and relevant ministries to identify other stranded state-owned consignments, warning that critical national development projects must no longer suffer unnecessary delays.
