Tinubu’s pledge on electricity must be considered in full context- APC Campaign Council

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council says President Bola Tinubu will present his scorecard on the power sector and explain any shortcomings in fulfilling his 2023 electricity campaign promises as he seeks re-election in 2027.

The campaign council said the president remained committed to his pledge to end estimated billing and improve electricity supply, but acknowledged that resolving Nigeria’s longstanding power sector challenges remained unfinished business.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, urged Nigerians to consider the full context of Mr Tinubu’s campaign promise, arguing that some recent public commentary had reproduced his remarks without including his qualification that he would provide adequate reasons for any failure to deliver.

At a meeting with members of the Organised Private Sector in Lagos ahead of the 2023 general elections, Mr Tinubu had promised to end estimated billing and ensure stable electricity supply.

“Whichever way, by all means necessary, you will have electricity, and you will not pay for estimated bills anymore,” he had said.

He added that if he failed to fulfil the promise, Nigerians should not vote for him in a second-term election unless he provided adequate reasons for his inability to deliver.

Mr Alake said a fair assessment of the pledge should consider the complete statement alongside the administration’s record since assuming office in May 2023.

He listed the signing of the Electricity Act 2023, the Presidential Metering Initiative, the settlement of legacy debts and investments in transmission infrastructure among the administration’s interventions in the sector.

According to him, Mr Tinubu signed the Electricity Act on 9 June 2023, less than two weeks after assuming office, effectively allowing state governments to participate in electricity generation, distribution and transmission.

He said Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Kaduna and Niger states had begun taking advantage of the legislation by establishing their own electricity regulatory agencies and attracting private investment.

The spokesperson also said the administration inherited more than N6 trillion in legacy debts accumulated between 2015 and 2025 and introduced a N4 trillion bond programme to settle verified obligations to 21 electricity generation and gas companies.

He said the first two tranches of the programme had raised more than N1.2 trillion towards settling the debts.

On metering, Mr Alake said the Presidential Metering Initiative was established to address a gap of more than seven million meters, adding that over 1.5 million customers had been metered under the programme in the last three years.

He also cited the Rural Electrification Agency’s efforts to connect universities, hospitals and rural communities to solar power.

The administration, he said, had unveiled plans to modernise the Osogbo Grid Control Centre, which was built more than 60 years ago, and construct an East-West super grid.

Mr Alake further disclosed that the Federal Executive Council approved the first batch of five Transmission Company of Nigeria substations for upgrading in December 2024, with the projects expected to be completed and commissioned before the end of the administration’s first term.

He said the council approved another batch of projects in June 2026, involving the construction of eight new substations and the upgrading of four existing ones.

According to him, the projects require specialised equipment with long procurement and delivery timelines, making immediate completion unrealistic.

On electricity tariffs, Mr Alake said the administration had aligned tariffs more closely with costs to improve liquidity in the electricity market while introducing service bands to balance the financial needs of distribution companies with affordability for consumers.

He said the government was also putting measures in place to protect low-income households while investments in substations and grid expansion continued.

The spokesperson cited recent investments by Geregu Power Plc in new power transformers to improve operations at its Geregu 1 Power Plant as evidence that the administration’s interventions were beginning to encourage fresh investments in the sector.

He also said Mr Tinubu had reviewed the Presidential Power Initiative inherited from the late President Muhammadu Buhari and signed an acceleration agreement with German partners in December 2023 to fast-track projects aimed at improving the national transmission grid.

“Fixing the electricity market and power sector is ongoing work,” Mr Alake said.

He maintained that the president had not abandoned his electricity pledge and would present his administration’s achievements and outstanding challenges to Nigerians as he seeks a second term.