Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who stated this at a two-day retreat organised by the Senate Committee on Power, noted that the DisCos have been frustrating the efforts by the government to improve power supply.

A statement by the Special Adviser, Strategic Communication and Media Relations to the Minister, Bolaji Tunji said Adelabu spoke on the persistent crisis threatening to derail progress in the sector which is chronic underinvestment in distribution infrastructure, which continues to cripple service delivery nationwide in spite of landmark reforms in the electricity sector.

The minister revealed glaring disparities in distribution company performance, with aging networks, rampant electricity theft, and poor investment deepening reliance on unsustainable subsidies and leaving millions in darkness.

He noted that in the 2003 restructuring of the sector, the DisCos were supposed to have technical partners, but a lot of them showed partnership with foreign companies for that purpose which lasted for about three months, immediately they took over, those companies left.

According to the minister, despite tariff adjustments that boosted market liquidity by 70 percent—raising sector revenue from ₦1 trillion in 2023 to ₦1.7 trillion in 2024—the distribution segment remains the weakest link.

The minister highlighted plans to attract private investment into grid infrastructure and regionalise transmission networks to reduce failure risks, noting that the 70 percent remittance by the two DisCos in Lagos reflects better infrastructure than what obtains in the northern networks.

He called on the National Assembly to enact stricter legislation aimed at safeguarding Nigeria’s power infrastructure from acts of vandalism.

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In a statement issued to newsmen by the President of the union, Joe Ajaero, the union expressed deep concern over the epileptic state of the country’s electricity sector, which according to him is on the brink of total collapse.

Ajaero hinted that if the Ministry of Power is manned by competent officials, there won’t be constant grid collapse, stressing that the national grid has collapsed more under this administration and therefore called for the urgent resignation of the Minister of Power.

Ajaero also slammed the minister over the proposed allocation of ₦8 billion in the 2025 budget for sensitisation of Nigerians on the need to pay electricity bills, accusing the Ministry of Power of prioritising frivolous projects over critical infrastructure.

The NLC president further stated that the N8bn was a misplaced priority, especially when contractors in the Transmission Company of Nigeria are owed over ₦200 billion.

The union also criticized the National Electricity Regulatory Commission for failing to fulfill its regulatory duties.

He said the commission has demonstrated a lack of capacity and an unwillingness to protect electricity consumers, citing a recent incident where NERC allegedly colluded with the board of a distribution company to sack its managing director for exposing unethical practices.

Ajaero noted that the union would continue to monitor developments in the sector and warned against any attempt to use the budget process as a vehicle for wasteful expenditures.

He however called on the federal government to urgently reinvigorate the electricity sector to avert total collapse, adding that failure to address these issues would further erode public confidence in governance.

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