THE Federal Government has declared that effective electricity supply across Nigeria can no longer depend solely on centralised control from Abuja, urging the 36 states to immediately begin establishing and operating their own power firms to tackle the country’s persistent energy crisis.
News Point Nigeria reports that the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, stated this position on Tuesday while speaking at the Nigeria Energy Leadership Summit in Lagos. Adelabu said decentralizing the power sector was the only sustainable solution to the decades-long electricity challenges that have crippled industries and left millions of Nigerians in darkness.
Nigeria has struggled for years to provide stable electricity despite several reforms, privatisation efforts and massive financial interventions. Adelabu admitted that the current centralised model has failed, asserting that states must now take full advantage of the Electricity Act signed into law in June 2023 by President Bola Tinubu.
“A country as big as Nigeria over 200 million people, 36 states, 774 local governments — cannot rely on centralised power distribution. From Abuja, you cannot guarantee stable electricity nationwide,” the minister said.
He explained that the new law devolves regulatory power to state governments, allowing them to build and operate electricity generation, transmission, distribution and support infrastructure independent of the national framework.
According to Adelabu, 15 states have already secured regulatory autonomy to establish subnational electricity markets, with Enugu leading the pack as the first to fully operationalise its own regulatory commission — a shift he described as a major transformation in Nigeria’s energy structure.
The minister called on other state governors to engage both local and foreign investors to build new power plants including solar farms, hydropower and wind energy and take advantage of massive economic opportunities in rural and industrial zones.
“The private sector must get involved. Government alone cannot fund the investment required,” Adelabu stressed.
He noted that greater state involvement would also energise rural economies through productive electricity supply to agriculture-based businesses and small-scale manufacturers.
Adelabu further urged governors to task power distribution companies (DisCos) operating within their states and actively challenge the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to deliver improved load allocation to their networks.
“Electricity supply is a major campaign promise of every governor. You must hold DisCos accountable and monitor their performance. Abuja cannot track them effectively,” he added.
He maintained that the President Tinubu administration is aggressively pursuing reforms and infrastructure expansion to reposition the electricity industry for efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness.
