Works minister Tunde Fashola on Saturday blamed unnamed vandals for the nationwide blackout reported after the national grid collapsed on Friday evening. 

Mr Fashola, in a statement from his office, said efforts are underway to address the crisis, which has earned him widespread criticism as power shortages continued to disrupt economic activities across the country.

“The immediate cause of national blackout (system collapse) was an act of vandalism on a transmission tower on the Odukpani – Ikot Ekpene 330kV double circuittransmission line, resulting in a sudden loss of about 400MW of generation. This consequently led to a cascade of plant shut down across the country,” the statement said.

“We wish to notify the public that power on the grid is being restored sequentially by the System Operator as other on-grid power plants are being dispatched to cover the lost generation capacity from the Calabar power plant owned by the Niger Power Holding Company Ltd,” it added.

The statement came hours after power regulators promised to investigate the root causes of incessant power failures assailing the country’s economy.