Electricity Tariffs: What Power Minister said and didn’t say – Gaffar Tunde

An analyst and stakeholder in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, Gaffar Tunde, has clarified the remarks made by the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, on electricity tariffs during a media engagement in Abuja on Friday.

Do we really have the interest of our country at heart or are we hell-bent on seeing them fail? News reports have been fraught with inaccurate details regarding an alleged plan by the Federal Government to increase tariffs and remove subsidies. Many people have been reporting misleading information rather than the facts.

Here is an account of the true state of the media interaction the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe held with senior journalists to brief them on activities in the power sector since he assumed office.

Addressing the media executives present at the interaction, the Minister highlighted key priority areas for his leadership of the sector.

Firstly, he said his frist priority is a comprehensive technical audit of the transmission segment of the electricity network. The audit is expected to identify ageing assets, overloaded substations, weak transmission corridors, protection failures, system bottlenecks, and operational vulnerabilities. The exercise will also provide the factual basis for prioritising investments, reducing system failures, improving planning, and ensuring that every naira invested delivers measurable value. 

He also revealed that the Ministry will commence strategic investments in three critical transmission corridors—Lagos, Enugu–Port Harcourt, and Abuja–Kaduna–Kano—to improve grid stability.

Furthermore, he revealed that the Ministry is adopting an integrated approach to electricity distribution with the Rural Electrification Agency covering gaps to improve electricity delivery.

He noted that the Ministry is adopting a “let the strong support the weak” approach, identifying commercially viable areas with high demand to improve liquidity in the sector. This liquidity will support more projects that deliver results for Nigerians.

The Minister also highlighted that the Ministry is prioritising improved service delivery to protect vulnerable Nigerians. The Minister acknowledged that the country is not yet where it needs to be, but noted that progress is being made citing the achievement of 5,000 MW in generation while emphasizing that this is not the end goal. Delivering transmission directly to households, communities, and industrial clusters is what he considers true success.

Tegbe went on further to identify completed essential facilities, such as universities and health centres which have been powered by mini-grids through the Rural Electrification Agency. 

He revealed that the agency will commence a new phase of the project to power the University of Lagos, UCH Ibadan, and The Polytechnic, Ibadan, among others.

What he didn’t say

He did not announce plans by the government to make Nigerians suffer, nor did he mention plans to enrich a select few solar manufacturers.

He also didn’t say that the electricity subsidy is gone. He explained that a subsidy in the electricity sector differs from petrol, clarifying that it represents a tariff shortfall rather than a direct handout.

Instead of misquoting the Minister and politicising his statements, we should focus on the positives and the journey ahead. Nigeria’s electricity sector still has a long way to go, but progress is being made under President Tinubu. It is a dividend owed to every Nigerian, which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demonstrated a strong will to deliver.