Nigeria’s Minister-designate for Power, Olasunkanmi Tegbe, has denied reports claiming he promised to fix the country’s troubled national grid within three months.
In a statement released Thursday through his spokesperson, Adeola Adelabu, Tegbe’s camp described the reports as misleading and inaccurate, insisting that the minister-designate never made such a commitment during his Senate screening on May 6.
According to the statement, Tegbe explained to lawmakers that timelines for major reforms in the power sector were still being worked out and would depend on technical assessments and consultations with stakeholders across the industry.
The clarification follows widespread media reports suggesting he had pledged to completely resolve Nigeria’s recurring grid collapses within a three-month window.
His spokesperson said Tegbe only assured senators that efforts to stabilise the grid would begin within his first 100 days in office, while acknowledging that deeper structural reforms would take much longer.
The statement noted that reforms targeting issues such as metering, gas supply, operational efficiency and overall sector credibility could take about a year before Nigerians begin to see significant results.
“My promise to this chamber and to Nigeria is that Nigerians will see visible improvement in the sector,” Tegbe reportedly told the Senate during the screening exercise.
He also outlined plans to strengthen electricity infrastructure, improve commercial operations within the industry and enforce greater accountability across the power value chain.
On tariff reforms, Tegbe reportedly assured lawmakers that vulnerable Nigerians would be protected while government works to balance affordability with the financial sustainability of the sector and investor confidence.
The statement further urged journalists and media organisations to seek proper clarification before publishing sensitive claims, stressing that the minister-designate sees the media as an important partner in communicating reforms to the public.
Nigeria’s power sector has long struggled with persistent grid collapses, inadequate electricity generation, weak transmission systems, poor metering, gas supply shortages and mounting debts across the industry.
Tegbe’s clarification comes at a time of rising public expectations for the Tinubu administration to finally deliver lasting improvements in electricity supply across the country.
