Be Patient, Tinubu Has Wonderful Plans For Nigerians - Adelabu Says Amid Poor Power Supply

In a recent video circulating the internet, the Minister of Power said, “Nigerians should have a trust in this administration. It’ll only take little patient for them to start seeing the laudable plan that President Tinubu has for the power sector.”

This comes days after Nigeria’s electricity supply took another hit. Power generation on the national grid dropped below the 4,000-megawatt mark last Thursday, raising concerns that electricity shortages across the country could worsen in the coming days.

According to the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), total generation stood at 3,940.53 megawatts at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday. The drop, the agency said, is largely due to persistent gas supply shortages affecting thermal power plants.

READ ALSO: More Power Outages Likely as Nigeria’s Electricity Generation Falls Below 4,000MW

Reports suggests that Nigeria’s electricity crisis may worsen in the coming weeks as gas suppliers halt supply to thermal power plants over an estimated N3.3tn debt owed by power generation companies, a development that could deepen the nationwide power shortage.

Dr. Joy Ogaji, the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, shared this perspective. She sounded the alarm, cautioning that the growing debts throughout the power industry is pushing the whole sector towards a significant crisis.

As gas deliveries keep dropping, many power plants have had to close down. Meanwhile, the Transmission Company of Nigeria is implementing load shedding, which means they're rationing the limited electricity available among the distribution companies. On their various channels, these distribution outfits have been repeatedly asking customers to bear with them, blaming the power cuts on gas shortages.

When asked about the current state of affairs, Ogaji pointed out that the root of the crisis is the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc's failure to fully settle payments for electricity generated by power companies since the industry was privatised. She mentioned that the government now owes the generation companies around N6.8 trillion, with roughly 70% of that sum connected to thermal plants.

She went on to clarify that about 70% of what the government owes these thermal power plants actually belongs to the gas suppliers. This means gas providers are currently owed about N3.3 trillion out of the N4.76 trillion related to thermal power generation.

Adelabu's words will do very little in placating Nigerians who have endured weeks of abysmal power supply. The terrible state of the nation's power sector has led Nigerians to recall President Tinubu's campaign statement, where he asked Nigerians not to re-elect him if he fails to deliver a 24-hour power supply. Recently, former staunch Tinubu critic turned praise singer, Reno Omokri, told Channels TV that the President's promise of a 24-hour power supply was made in ignorance.

The reality of Tinubu's categorical failure in fixing the nation's power sector will be a major talking point as the Nigerians prepare for elections in 9 months.