Minister of Power Tegbe says he didn't promise to fix the national grid in three months

In a statement issued by his media aide, Adeola Adelabu, the Minister of Power clarified that he didn't promise to fix the national grid in three months, but rather he promised to begin the process of revamping the grid within his first three months in power.

During his Senate screening, Tegbe promised the Senate that Nigerians would see notable improvements in the power sector in his first few months in office.

Joseph Tegbe, 60, was nominated by President Tinubu to lead the Ministry of Power after the resignation of Adebayo Adelabu, who left office to pursue his ambition to become the next governor of Oyo State.

The work of Tegbe is clearly cut out for him as he's taking over at a time when the Nigerian power sector is struggling to generate 4,000 megawatts to supply electricity to 200 million people.

Throughout 2026, Nigeria has grappled with a significant drop in generation capacity, which has hovered below 3,000 Megawatts. Several thermal plants across the country are operating below capacity, while some have shut down over what operators blame on a shortage of gas caused by their inability to offset debt to suppliers because the federal government's failure to clear a backlog of subsidies on power supply placed at 6 trillion naira.

President Tinubu's administration reviewed the federal government's debt to power-generating companies, placing the debt at 3 trillion naira, with the payment process already receiving presidential approval.

With the general election scheduled for January 2027, Joseph Tegbe will be hoping to have a positive time as Minister of Power, especially as his predecessor left office, leaving behind a struggling power sector that forced Nigerians to take to the streets to protest the blackout.

Tegbe, who graduated from the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, with a first-class degree in Civil Engineering in 1988, will aim to draw on his wealth of experience across the energy, finance, and investment sectors to fix Nigeria's power sector, which has so far defied solutions.

Before his appointment, Tegbe was serving as the Director-General and Global Liaison of the Nigeria–China Strategic Partnership (NCSP), a results-oriented institution focused on delivering impactful economic outcomes. Like his predecessor, he also has a strong background in finance, having occupied senior leadership positions across two decades in the global tax company KPMG.

He is also an alumnus of Lagos Business School, Nigeria; INSEAD, France; Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Business School.

During his Senate screening, Tegbe was cautioned to be wary of the so-called "Generator Cabal," which Senator Abaribe from Abia State says is the biggest generator marketer in the world and will resist any attempt to fix the power sector.

Senator Danjuma Goje from Gombe State suggested that the Minister should consider a different approach to fixing Nigeria's power crisis. Goje opined that the Federal Government should "swallow its pride" and concession the power infrastructure to China for a period of 20 years to permanently fix the power crisis.

Whatever approach Joseph Tegbe adopts, Nigerians will be hoping it urgently produces results and restores a stable electricity supply to their homes.