Nigeria’s Minister-designate for Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, has said he will not make unrealistic promises of immediate 24-hour electricity supply but assured Nigerians that significant improvements in the power sector would be visible within a short time.
Tegbe made the declaration on Wednesday during his screening before the Nigerian Senate, where he pledged to pursue practical reforms aimed at restoring confidence in the country’s troubled electricity industry.
“If I am confirmed, Mr Senate President and Distinguished Senators, I will not stand here and say tomorrow I will give you 24-hour electricity,” he said.
“But what I will tell you is that with a very honest approach, I will ensure that visible improvement is seen across the country in the shortest time possible. I will commit that we will replace uncertainties for Nigerians with clarity.”
The minister-designate identified distribution inefficiencies as one of the major obstacles confronting the sector, noting that persistent weaknesses across the electricity value chain continue to hinder reliable power supply nationwide.
He also expressed concern over Nigeria’s widening metering gap, describing it as a critical factor eroding public trust in electricity providers.
“Distribution is inconsistent and often misaligned with expectations. The metering gap continues to erode trust. Today, we have a 44 per cent metering gap in Nigeria,” Tegbe stated.
Despite the challenges, he commended ongoing government interventions, revealing that over one million electricity meters had been deployed across the country within the last year.
“Our government is doing extremely well. In the last one year, we have grown a million meters across the country. We need to move faster to ensure that we make even more progress,” he added.
Tegbe further highlighted deep-rooted structural and financial issues affecting the power sector, stressing that meaningful reforms must address governance failures as well as funding constraints.
“The governance and financial structure of this sector remains under pressure. In simple terms, we are trying to build a modern power system on the further evolution of the financial structure,” he explained.
His remarks came shortly after Senator Danjuma Goje suggested during the screening that Nigeria should consider handing over the management of its power sector to China or another advanced country for 20 years in order to achieve stable electricity supply.
Tegbe, a former Director-General and Global Liaison of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership (NCSP), is expected to formally assume office following Senate confirmation.
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