…Vows to end grid collapses
Nigeria’s newly confirmed Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has pledged to tackle the country’s persistent grid collapses within three months, while cautioning that he cannot promise Nigerians immediate 24-hour electricity supply.
Speaking during his screening before the Senate on Wednesday, Tegbe said the power sector is facing deep-rooted structural and financial problems that require urgent reforms, discipline, and accountability to restore public confidence and improve electricity supply nationwide.
The Minister-designate stated that although constant electricity remains a long-term goal, Nigerians should begin to see measurable improvements within months rather than years. “I will not stand here and say tomorrow, I will give you 24 hours electricity,” Tegbe told lawmakers. “But what I will tell you, and I will be very honest about it, is that I will ensure that visible improvement is seen across the country in the shortest time possible”.
He added that recurring grid collapses are not accidental incidents but signs of deeper weaknesses within the system. “Grid collapse is not accidental; it reflects deeper structural problems. If there are no results in three months, there will be none in six. Nigerians should hold us accountable”, he stated.
Tegbe disclosed that the Nigerian power sector is currently weighed down by debts estimated at about ₦6 trillion, warning that liquidity challenges are affecting operations across the entire electricity value-chain. According to him, reforms would focus on stabilising generation and gas supply, strengthening transmission infrastructure, improving electricity distribution, and ensuring greater transparency across the sector.
The Minister-designate further acknowledged the country’s lingering metering crisis, revealing that Nigeria still faces a metering gap of about 44 per cent despite recent government efforts that led to the distribution of millions of meters.
Tegbe also alleged that certain vested interests benefit from the failures in the electricity sector and vowed to confront them. “There are elements that do not want the system to work because they benefit from its failure; we will take them on”, he declared. During the screening, senators blamed the country’s persistent electricity challenges on entrenched interests within the sector, including what lawmakers described as a “generator cabal”.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu nominated Tegbe as Minister of Power following the exit of former minister Adebayo Adelabu.
