The 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential flagbearer, Peter Obi, has lamented the recent collapse of the national grid, saying Nigeria’s power crisis is a direct result of continuous leadership failures.

Obi said this on Saturday in a post he shared on his verified X account, in reaction to Friday’s collapse of the national grid which led to a nationwide blackout.

“2026: The Collapse Continues – In January 2025, we witnessed the first grid collapse of that year, which was followed by several other collapses. Now in January, 2026 the national shame has commenced with yesterday’s collapse,” he said.

“This power crisis is a direct result of continuous leadership failures. The power sector is critical and requires competent and committed leadership to thrive.”

He said it is utterly disappointing that for three consecutive years—from 2023 to 2025—”our nation has been ranked as having the least access to electricity globally, with nearly 100 million citizens left without power.

“When we compare our situation to other African nations, the disparity is stark. South Africa, with its population of about 64 million, generates and distributes over 40,000 megawatts. Egypt, with about 115 million population, also generates over 40,000 megawatts.

“Algeria, with around 48 million population, generates and distributes over 50,000 megawatts. Meanwhile, Nigeria, the giant of Africa and its most populous nation with over 240 million people, produces a mere 5,000 megawatts—an absurdly low figure that severely hampers our productivity.”

As we look towards 2027, the former Governor of Anambra State has urged Nigeria to prioritise competence and empathy in its leadership.

According to Obi, it is time to elect individuals with the capacity and dedication necessary to initiate a significant turnaround for Nigeria because anything less is unacceptable.

Nigeria’s electricity grid collapsed on Friday afternoon, cutting power supply nationwide after generation and load allocation dropped to zero across all distribution companies, according to data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO).

The system failure occurred at about 1 pm, when electricity allocation to all electricity distribution companies fell to zero. Data from the grid operator showed that power generation plunged to zero megawatts, triggering a total shutdown of supply across the country.

A review of the national distribution load profile at the time of the incident indicated that all distribution companies, including Abuja, Eko, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Yola, recorded zero load, confirming a nationwide outage.

The collapse followed reports by grid operators of strong electricity demand in major urban centres earlier in the day. Before the failure, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) was receiving about 639 megawatts, while Ikeja Electric was allocated approximately 630 megawatts, reflecting high demand across key cities.