By Michael Olukayode
For decades, electricity has remained Nigeria’s most enduring national embarrassment. From military administrations to democratic governments, promises of stable power supply have come and gone with little to show beyond recurring darkness, collapsing grids, abandoned projects and rising public frustration.
Now, with the appointment of Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe as Minister of Power, expectations are once again rising. Yet unlike in previous eras, Nigerians are no longer impressed by ambitious declarations. They are demanding results.
The question confronting Tegbe is not whether he understands the scale of the crisis. It is whether he can succeed where many before him failed.
Nigeria’s electricity sector is littered with the ruins of grand promises.
From the Olusegun Obasanjo administration’s multi-billion dollar National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), to the Goodluck Jonathan-era privatisation of generation and distribution companies, successive governments repeatedly promised that stable electricity was around the corner. Under former President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerians were told that the Siemens-backed Presidential Power Initiative would revolutionise transmission and distribution. The current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also pledged sweeping reforms, improved generation and a more efficient market-driven electricity sector.
Yet millions of Nigerians still rely on generators as their primary source of power.
The irony remains painful: Africa’s largest economy continues to generate barely between 4,000 and 5,000 megawatts for over 200 million people, despite an installed capacity exceeding 13,000MW.
Entire industries have collapsed under the burden of self-generated electricity. Small businesses spend more on diesel than on salaries. Manufacturers complain of rising operational costs. Students study under torchlights. Hospitals struggle to preserve vaccines and operate life-saving equipment. For many Nigerians, electricity is not merely an infrastructure issue; it is the dividing line between poverty and productivity.
That is why Tegbe’s appointment comes with enormous pressure.
Unlike many previous political appointees in the sector, Tegbe comes into office with the image of a technocrat rather than a career politician. A chartered accountant and management consultant, he built his reputation in the private sector through years of corporate advisory work, investment strategy and institutional restructuring. He previously served as the Director-General and Global Liaison for the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership, where he was credited with helping to deepen investment engagement between Nigeria and Chinese investors in infrastructure, manufacturing and industrial development initiatives.
Before that appointment, Tegbe had a long corporate career spanning consulting, finance and business transformation. He worked with multinational consulting firm Deloitte and later became a senior business strategist with extensive experience in public-private partnerships, governance systems and economic planning. Supporters argue that this background gives him a better understanding of the financial and structural complexities that have crippled Nigeria’s power sector for years.
His defenders also point to his record in economic coordination and institutional reforms, arguing that the electricity crisis is no longer just a technical problem but a management and governance challenge requiring strategic execution, investor confidence and policy discipline.
At his Senate screening, Tegbe outlined a reform agenda focused on improving gas supply, strengthening grid reliability, accelerating metering, enforcing accountability among distribution companies and restoring financial discipline across the sector.
Those priorities are significant because Nigeria’s electricity crisis is no longer just about generation. The problems are systemic.
Generation companies complain of unpaid debts and inadequate gas supply. Distribution companies struggle with huge financial losses, weak infrastructure, electricity theft and poor revenue collection. Transmission infrastructure remains fragile and outdated, leading to frequent system collapses and stranded power capacity.
The national grid itself has become symbolic of institutional weakness. Grid collapses have repeatedly plunged large sections of the country into darkness, disrupting businesses and exposing the fragility of the system. Regulatory reports continue to show wide gaps between installed generation capacity and actual available electricity supply.
For many Nigerians, these recurring failures have destroyed public confidence.
Citizens openly question whether government officials genuinely intend to solve the crisis or merely manage it politically. Some blame corruption and weak regulation; others argue that decades of policy inconsistency and poor implementation are the real culprits.
That skepticism explains why Tegbe’s promises are being greeted with cautious optimism rather than celebration.
Still, his supporters believe he enters office with certain advantages. His experience in corporate restructuring and investment negotiations may prove useful in a sector desperate for efficiency, investor confidence and credible execution. But technical knowledge alone will not solve Nigeria’s electricity crisis.
What the sector requires most is political courage.
Any meaningful reform will involve difficult decisions: enforcing payment discipline, restructuring failing distribution companies, addressing subsidy distortions, improving tariff transparency, tackling electricity theft and compelling stronger private sector accountability. These reforms are politically sensitive because electricity affects every household and business in the country.
The minister must also confront the deeper institutional problem that has undermined previous reforms — weak governance.
Over the years, billions of dollars have reportedly been invested in power infrastructure with minimal impact on supply. Projects are often launched with fanfare only to disappear into bureaucratic delays, contractual disputes or funding crises. Nigerians have grown weary of ceremonial commissioning without measurable outcomes.
That is why measurable targets will matter more than speeches.
If Tegbe hopes to build public trust, Nigerians will expect clear timelines, transparent reporting and visible improvements in supply stability. Citizens want fewer excuses and more accountability. They want to know why power plants cannot get gas despite Nigeria’s enormous natural gas reserves. They want to know why transmission bottlenecks continue years after repeated intervention programmes. They want to know why estimated billing still persists despite promises of mass metering.
Most importantly, they want leadership that acknowledges that electricity is central to national development.
No serious industrial economy can thrive in darkness.
Countries that transformed their economies invested heavily in stable electricity infrastructure. Without reliable power, Nigeria’s ambitions for industrialisation, digital innovation, manufacturing growth and foreign investment will remain severely constrained.
The challenge before Tegbe therefore goes beyond fixing transformers or stabilising the grid. His real assignment is to restore credibility to a sector where public trust has nearly collapsed.
There are signs that structural reforms may finally be gaining momentum. The Electricity Act 2023 has opened the door for states to develop independent electricity markets, reducing overdependence on the fragile national grid. Several states are already moving toward decentralised power arrangements.
But Nigerians have heard reform language before.
What they seek now is evidence.
The success or failure of Tegbe’s tenure may ultimately depend on one simple question: can his administration deliver stable and predictable improvement, even if gradual?
If he succeeds, he could become the minister who finally begins the long-delayed transformation of Nigeria’s electricity sector.
If he fails, he risks joining a long list of officials whose promises disappeared into the darkness Nigerians know too well.
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