Nigeria’s new power minister pledges to fix grid collapse, makes other promises

The minister-designate said the first phase of his 100-day plan would focus on stabilising the national grid before rolling out another phase of metering to reduce estimated billing across the country.

Nigeria’s minister-designate for power, Joseph Tegbe, has pledged to tackle the recurring national grid collapse if confirmed and sworn in as substantive minister. Mr Tegbe said he will try to fix the grid collapse in his first 100 days in office.

Mr Tegbe made the pledge on Wednesday while responding to questions from senators during his screening at the Senate chamber.

The minister-designate said the first phase of his 100-day plan would focus on stabilising the national grid before rolling out another phase of metering to reduce estimated billing across the country.

“The first phase in the 100 days is to stabilise that grid. There are questions around grid collapse and then need to roll out metering. Last year we rolled out 1 million meters across the country; it is never done before,” he said.

Aside from stabilising the grid, Mr Tegbe said he would enforce stricter discipline in the sector and implement reforms that would improve the power industry.

“We need to stabilise the grid. There is a short term that we need to quickly do. We need to enforce strict code against indiscipline and ensure a tax system across. We need to also improve reserve in our grid. They have done it in other places so we just need discipline to do it,” he added.

President Bola Tinubu appointed Mr Tegbe on 6 May following the resignation of the former minister, Adebayo Adelabu, who left to pursue his governorship ambition in Oyo State.

Nigeria’s national electricity grid has remained highly unstable, with repeated system failures disrupting power supply across the country. Since the administration of Mr Tinubu began in May 2023, the grid has recorded no fewer than 20 collapses as of early 2026, according to industry data.

At least three collapses were recorded between May and December 2023. About 12 were recorded in 2024 with failures occurring almost monthly. In 2025, 12 incidents were reported across the year. Multiple collapses have already been recorded in 2026.

Each grid collapse typically leads to nationwide or widespread blackouts, as transmitted power drops to zero or near zero, leaving homes, industries and critical services without electricity.

The repeated grid failures have had severe consequences for businesses and economic activities. Every collapse throws the majority of electricity consumers into darkness, halting production and commercial activities. Businesses are forced to rely on diesel and petrol generators, significantly increasing operating expenses.

Overall, the instability of the national grid has become one of the biggest constraints on Nigeria’s economic development, with businesses and households increasingly dependent on costly alternative power sources.

Hold me accountable for failure

The minister-designate urged lawmakers to reassure their constituents that Nigeria’s power sector would improve significantly under his leadership.

“We’re going to come to you with difficult decisions. Your constituency will come to you, please tell them to bear with us that we saw the pain but we’ll get there because we’re going to have a disciplined approach,” he said.

Mr Tegbe said he would present his work plan to lawmakers within three months of his confirmation and inauguration.

He also asked lawmakers to hold him accountable if he fails to deliver on his promises.

“We’ll come and present to you what our plan is with clear milestones. If you don’t see these in three months, it means you won’t see it in six months, so you must see the three months and you must hold us accountable for it. Or if we don’t put it together in the next one or two weeks, we’ll come to you and present the milestones. So, we’ll put a stop to that leakages and challenges in the power sector.”

Nigeria owes N6 trillion debt in power sector

Speaking on challenges in power generation, Mr Tegbe told lawmakers that Nigeria currently has an estimated N6 trillion debt in the power sector.

He attributed much of the debt burden to the inability of power generation companies (GenCos) to adequately pay for gas supply due to market shortfalls.

“Gencos cannot even pay adequately for their gas supply because of their shortfalls. Today, we have an estimated of N6 trillion debt in the sector. Government has done very well. A lot of work has been done, we even settled 3.3 trillion through bonds. The movement in the industry is struggling It’s a lot of pressure.

“Mr President assigned me because he wants us to sleep for the next five years. My promise to Nigeria and to this hallowed chamber is that Nigerians will see significant improvement in this sector. We’ll continue to consult the people in the next one or two weeks. We have obtained documents and reports but we need to make sure that those things are pragmatic and practical.”

Akpabio warns minister-designate against power sector cabal

After Mr Tegbe’s remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio warned him to be wary of entrenched interests in the power sector.

“When they’re having meeting in the ministry of power and they take light, the minister will become agitated and worried and then, the engineers will be relaxed taking tea because they know more jobs are coming. That they’re likely to be deployed to go and take care of the repairs. So which means that you’re going to find elements there, who have been entrenched, who are not interested in power moving.

“You also mentioned cabal in the generator sector in Nigeria. Those who are importing generating sets, that cabal does not want power to work in Nigeria because they want to keep bringing generators into the country. Those are some of the things you’ll look at outside the issues of finance, outside administrative issues and all that.”

Confirmation

After the nominee responded to questions from lawmakers, the senate president put his confirmation to a vote, and the majority of senators supported it by voice vote.

He was subsequently confirmed.

Mr Tegbe is expected to be sworn into office in the next few days by President Tinubu.