In a pointed critique of Nigeria’s failing power infrastructure, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu has placed blame on lax legislative safeguards and chronic underperformance by electricity distribution companies. Speaking at a Senate Committee on Power retreat in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Adelabu called for a comprehensive legal overhaul to criminalise energy theft, illegal connections, and the destruction of critical energy assets.
“We need more stringent legislation to tackle this problem. Power theft, non-payment of bills, and illegal connections are all critical issues that undermine the integrity of our energy system,” Adelabu told lawmakers.
His remarks come amid rising concern over Nigeria’s unstable power grid, budget shortfalls, and a subsidy regime that continues to bleed public finances.
A Grid on Life Support
Despite what the minister described as relative operational stability — including a grid that has reportedly avoided collapse since January — the picture he painted of the sector was one of deep systemic fragility. According to Adelabu, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) deployed 61 transformers in 2024 and another 13 in the first quarter of 2025. These installations, ranging from 10MW to 300MW, were reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars — yet continue to suffer from sabotage.
“These installations cost hundreds of millions of dollars, yet they continue to be vandalised,” he noted, calling for public vigilance and tighter legislative controls.
The TCN, currently operating without direct budgetary allocations, is fully reliant on its internally generated revenue — a funding structure the minister says is insufficient for expansion and maintenance.
DisCos: The Weakest Link
The most scathing section of Adelabu’s address targeted electricity distribution companies. Eleven years after privatisation, he argued, most DisCos have failed to meet their investment and performance commitments. Despite securing substantial loans to acquire assets, many have reportedly reinvested very little into the sector.
“They frustrate gains made in generation and transmission,” he said.
His data points were sobering: market liquidity surged by 70% year-on-year, climbing from ₦1 trillion in 2023 to ₦1.7 trillion in 2024. Yet, remittance rates remain alarmingly low — particularly in northern Nigeria, where only ₦124.4 billion (30%) of the ₦408.86 billion invoiced in Q4 2024 was paid. In contrast, Lagos-based DisCos accounted for 70% of southern region payments.
Mounting Liabilities and Financial Deadweight
Adelabu also highlighted the unsustainable nature of the power sector’s subsidy burden. The backlog owed to generation companies has ballooned to ₦4 trillion — with ₦1.94 trillion accumulated in 2024 alone. Monthly financial shortfalls now exceed ₦200 billion.
“Without urgent capital injection into distribution networks, gains in generation and transmission will not translate to reliable electricity for households,” he warned.
The minister revealed that the government has launched the ₦700 billion Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) with World Bank support. The programme deployed 75,000 meters in April and aims to install an additional 200,000 units in May, with a national target of 4.3 million by 2025.
Revival Projects and Regional Ambitions
Adelabu announced that the federal government intends to restructure underperforming DisCos and enforce strict compliance with performance targets. Plans are also underway to regionalise the national transmission system in a bid to mitigate grid-wide disruptions.
Meanwhile, abandoned infrastructure projects in the north are being revisited. The 215MW Kaduna Thermal Plant — 87% completed before being neglected for half a decade — is now back on the government’s radar. Similarly, the 1,000MW Makurdi Hydropower Project is under development, while the 10MW Katsina Wind Farm is being primed for concession via public-private partnerships.
The Political Ask
Adelabu’s overarching plea to the National Assembly was clear: without updated legislation to treat vandalism and energy theft as criminal rather than civil violations, the sector’s challenges will persist. His statement was reinforced by officials at the retreat.
Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Adebowale Adedokun, condemned the misuse of IT-related contracts within the power sector, saying such contracts often serve as conduits for misappropriation.
“Most IT project components are intangible, and officials leverage them to siphon public funds. We need to stop this and say no to wastage,” he said.
He also called on NITDA and the Ministry of Power to standardise IT bidding processes and adopt service-wide software licensing agreements for key providers such as Microsoft and Oracle.
Auditor General Shaakaa Kanyitor pledged to evaluate the impact of IT clearance on the power sector’s operational and economic outcomes, while Accountant-General Shamseldeen Ogunjimi expressed readiness to incorporate the minister’s recommendations into national financial processes.