…..Alake says administration tackling N6trn legacy debt, expanding national grid

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) has defended President Bola Tinubu’s record in the power sector, saying his administration has metered more than 1.5 million electricity customers as part of efforts to fulfil his 2023 campaign promise to end estimated billing and ensure reliable electricity supply.

The council said although the country’s electricity crisis remained unresolved, the administration had introduced far-reaching reforms and interventions to address the structural, institutional and financial challenges confronting the sector.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the spokesperson of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, urged Nigerians to assess Tinubu’s electricity pledge within its full context, arguing that some public commentaries had ignored the concluding qualification in the President’s campaign statement.

Tinubu had made the promise during a meeting with members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) in Lagos ahead of the 2023 general elections.

He had declared: “Whichever way, by all means necessary, you will have electricity, and you will not pay for estimated bills anymore. A promise made will be a promise kept.”

The President had also challenged Nigerians not to re-elect him if he failed to fulfil the promise, unless he provided adequate reasons for his inability to deliver.

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

According to him, Tinubu moved quickly to address the structural challenges confronting the sector by signing the Electricity Act, 2023, on June 9, barely two weeks after assuming office.

He said the legislation liberalised and deregulated the electricity market, allowing state governments to participate in electricity generation, transmission and distribution.

Alake listed Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Kaduna and Niger among states that had begun taking advantage of the legislation by establishing their electricity regulatory agencies and attracting private investment into the sector.

The APC spokesman also said the administration had taken steps to address the accumulated legacy debt of more than N6 trillion incurred by the electricity sector between 2015 and 2025.

He said the government introduced the Presidential Metering Initiative to bridge the metering gap, which he put at more than seven million customers.

According to him, more than 1.5 million electricity customers have been metered under the initiative in the last three years.

He added that the administration had adjusted electricity tariffs towards cost-reflective levels to improve liquidity in the market while introducing measures to protect low-income households.

On infrastructure, Alake said the Rural Electrification Agency had connected universities, hospitals and rural communities to solar power, while the government 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.

He disclosed that the administration had also established a N4 trillion bond programme to settle verified legacy debts owed to 21 electricity generation companies (Gencos) and gas companies (Gascos).

The first and second tranches of the programme, he said, had raised more than N1.2 trillion to offset part of the verified liabilities.

Alake argued that the intervention had helped reduce market risks and restore confidence among investors, pointing to recent investment commitments by power generation companies as evidence of growing confidence in the sector.

He specifically cited Geregu Power Plc’s announcement of investments in new power transformers to improve operations at its Geregu 1 Power Plant, adding that other companies were making similar investments.

On the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), which was initiated by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, Alake said Tinubu had reviewed the existing agreement and signed an Acceleration Agreement with the German partners in December 2023 to fast-track projects aimed at strengthening the national transmission grid.

He said the Federal Executive Council (FEC), in December 2024, approved contracts for the first batch of five Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) substations in strategic load centres.

According to him, the projects are being completed and are expected to be commissioned before the end of the administration’s first term.

He further disclosed that FEC approved another batch of projects in June 2026 for the construction of eight new substations and the upgrade of four existing facilities in targeted locations.

The APC spokesman, however, acknowledged that electricity infrastructure projects required specialised equipment with long procurement and delivery timelines, making it impossible to achieve results overnight.

Explaining the administration’s tariff policy, Alake said Tinubu recognised that improving the electricity market required balancing the need for cost-reflective tariffs with the responsibility of ensuring affordability for most Nigerians.

He said the introduction of service-based tariff bands was designed to improve the financial viability of electricity distribution companies, strengthen cash flow and reduce the government’s burden of subsidising electricity tariffs.

He added that the government would continue to explore measures to improve the commercial viability of the sector without denying less-privileged Nigerians access to electricity.

“Fixing the electricity market and power sector is ongoing work,” Alake said, insisting that the President had not deviated from his commitment to addressing the challenges.

He said Tinubu would present his scorecard on the power sector as he seeks Nigerians’ mandate for a second term, explaining both the achievements recorded and the outstanding challenges requiring further attention.