Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power

Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has attributed the country’s failure to meet its 6,000 megawatts power generation target to vandalism of critical power transmission equipment.

According to Adelabu, the government had implemented measures to reach the milestone and was on track until multiple incidents of vandalism to electricity towers disrupted the plan.

Bolaji Tunji, Special Adviser on Strategic Communication and Media Relations, revealed that approximately 1,000 megawatts had been added since the current administration took office.

“If you look at the situation when the current administration took over, the generation was just about 4,000 megawatts. However, within a year, about 1,000 megawatts were added. By November 27, we again reached a target of 5,231 megawatts,” Tunji said in a chat with Punch.

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Tunji also highlighted another issue facing the sector— cash backing for subsidy payments.

“One of the key issues has been the cash backing of the subsidy, which relates to debt owed to generation companies and gas companies. This year’s subsidy will be approximately N2.3tn, but only N450bn was budgeted.

“Another issue has been the fragility of the transmission grid due to the level of vandalism,” he noted.

To improve power generation in 2025, the government plans to make improved provision in the budget for subsidies, ensure timely payments, and promote private sector participation.

The power ministry has also budgeted N269.74bn for special intervention power projects, N47.35bn for the construction of transformers and substations, and N36.82bn as counterpart funding for transmission lines and substation projects.