Tinubu's Ministers and the Power Supply Mess

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not kept his promise to give Nigerians constant electricity. He said at a business lunch in December 2022 that he should not be voted for a second term if he did not fix the electricity problem and stop estimated billing in his first term.

Later, he changed his statement, saying he should only be spared if he gave "adequate reasons" for failing. But the only thing worse than his broken promise on steady power supply is his choice of weak ministers for the power sector.

If qualifications could guarantee electricity, Tinubu's first minister, Adebayo Adelabu, and the current one, Joseph Tegbe, would have made Nigeria a power-exporting country. I have heard they both have impressive qualifications and understand the power business well.

By the time Adelabu left office, Tinubu had budgeted ₦17 billion for a solar power grid for the Presidential Villa. Meanwhile, the minister was surrounded by millions of Nigerians living in darkness, pleading for help.

When he finally showed up in April as a traffic warden in Ibadan, Oyo State, it was clear he was not fit for the power ministry. He should have been a warden, any type of warden, all along.

Then Tegbe came in, who has qualifications that could light a bulb. He is a first-class Civil Engineering graduate from Obafemi Awolowo University and has a degree in Public Administration from the University of Birmingham. With 35 years of experience, including senior roles at KPMG, he seemed like a good fit for the job.

Tegbe also played a key role in reforming the power sector at both the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading. But his recent actions suggest he might not be the right person after all. Like Adelabu, he seems distracted by his own ambitions.

In April 2024, after the government introduced different payment bands for electricity, Adelabu claimed Nigerians were leaving their freezers untouched because they were not paying much for power. While he faced 16 grid collapses during his time, his focus was on reducing electricity wastage, which could have been easily fixed by providing more prepaid meters. But he did not care about making meters available.

Tegbe must visit industrial areas in Kano, Kaduna, Ibadan, Jos, and Enugu to see how many factories are shut down or running below capacity because of poor power supply. Maybe people in those areas have forgotten there is a Ministry for Power and do not know the minister’s name.

He soon got distracted by his political ambition to become the governor of Oyo State. In his pursuit for power, he got involved with a prophet he accused of a ₦150 million cash-for-prophecy blackmail. What a prophet could not do for electricity, it clearly could not do for political power.

Nothing has really changed in the power sector, not in supply, distribution, or voltage. Maybe that is why Tegbe has come with his own strange ideas about electricity.

A statement attributed to him suggests that freezers are icing up due to too much electricity. According to Tegbe, he has been hearing from Nigerians asking him to "slow down" because their refrigerators are filled with ice and maybe they would appreciate the lights being turned off for a few days.

Tegbe was so convinced of his delusion that about a month after he started, he said that by 2027, "By the grace of God, we will stop this so-called subsidy in the power sector."

With Friends Like Tegbe…

I wonder how many everyday Nigerians have Minister Tegbe's phone number or think it is better to complain to him than just turn off their freezers themselves. Or if he knows how to see the reality of solar panels weighing down roofs and how inverters and batteries are taking up space in homes.

If he understands, he should realize he needs to speed up, not "slow down," because of the environmental issues caused by so many shops in Wuse Market running on petrol or diesel generators.

Tegbe should also visit places like Kano, Kaduna, Ibadan, Jos, and Enugu to see how many industries are shut down or running below capacity due to electricity supply issues. Perhaps the residents there don’t even remember there is a Ministry for Power or what the minister's name is.

They likely cannot afford to reach out to the minister to complain about how lack of power is affecting their businesses. Tegbe might not know that ice block production is an important business, and that suppliers invest in generators and cold compartments. Without these, many people won’t find cold drinks in Nigerian cities.

If the minister was not lost in a fantasy, a kind of optimism often seen after too many cold beers, he should have convinced the Presidential Villa not to spend ₦17 billion on the solar grid. He should just show them the evidence.

Post Cold-beer Talk

Minister Tegbe and those who can reach him are lucky. They may not be living in Nigeria or may be in luxury homes, unaware of how many refrigerators are disconnected due to low voltage.

If the minister was not lost in a delusional mindset, then he should have urged the Presidential Villa not to budget ₦17 billion for the solar grid. Just show them the evidence of problems people face.

Reality Check

According to the NERC, Nigeria has a total installed generation capacity of 13,625 megawatts (MW). But it generates and distributes about 4,000 to 5,000 MW of electricity to the national grid, some of which cannot be used due to poor transmission infrastructure.

With a population of 200 million, Nigeria's capacity of 13,625 megawatts equals just 68.13 watts per person, which is slightly more than what one 60-watt bulb needs. This is the theoretical ratio, not what each person actually gets; the actual power delivered is lower.

Is this the voltage causing problems for those lucky Nigerians complaining to the minister, or is there something else going on?

Freezers and Campaign

Tegbe seems to be living in a dream, unaware of the ongoing power outages and grid failures that have forced many homes and businesses to turn to alternative energy sources. He is totally out of touch!

But it is campaign season, a time when politicians brew many storms, even in their teacups. Tinubu should tell his minister that this claim is a bold lie that adds to the frustration of a broken promise.