Tinubu still committed to stable electricity — APC PCC

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has assured Nigerians that President Bola Tinubu remains committed to fulfilling his campaign promise of ensuring stable and reliable electricity supply, despite persistent challenges in the country’s power sector.

In a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesperson and Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, the council urged Nigerians to assess Tinubu’s electricity pledge in full context, including his promise to explain any failure to deliver before seeking re-election.

During the build-up to the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu promised to ensure stable electricity supply across the country.

He also challenged Nigerians not to re-elect him if he failed to fulfil the pledge without providing satisfactory reasons for his inability to do so.

More than three years after assuming office, electricity supply remains unstable in many parts of the country.

Consequently, opposition figures, including the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar; the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi; and the Allied Peoples Movement presidential candidate and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, among others, have seized on the persistent power crisis to criticise Tinubu’s administration ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The opposition leaders have urged Nigerians to hold the President accountable for his campaign promise by rejecting his bid for a second term, arguing that he has failed to deliver on his commitment to stable electricity supply.

The APC PCC, however, said Tinubu had taken deliberate steps to address longstanding challenges in the power sector, urging Nigerians to consider his pledge to explain any failure to deliver before seeking re-election.

Alake said Tinubu had identified estimated billing as a major challenge facing households and businesses and pledged to address it alongside other problems in the power sector to ensure stable and reliable electricity supply.

He stated, “His exact words at the event were: ‘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. If I don’t keep the promise and I come for a second term, don’t vote for me, unless I give you adequate reasons why I couldn’t deliver.’

“Some recent public commentary has reproduced the campaign pledge without its concluding qualification: that should he fall short, he would owe Nigerians an adequate explanation before seeking their support for a second term. A fair assessment of the pledge should consider the full statement alongside the administration’s record since 2023. This record should be assessed against measurable improvements in electricity supply, metering, infrastructure and market stability.

“While fixing the power sector crisis remains unfinished, the President is working consistently to deliver on his promise to Nigerians, and his commitment to face the challenges head-on has never diminished.

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“Within two weeks in office, President Tinubu signed the Electricity Act, 2023, on June 9. With the new Electricity Act, President Tinubu effectively liberalised and deregulated the power sector, moving it away from the Exclusive List so that states, as subnationals, can participate in power generation, distribution and transmission. Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Kaduna and Niger have started taking advantage of the law to maximise its benefits by setting up their own electricity regulatory agencies and driving private capital into their states.”

The APC PCC said the Tinubu administration had taken responsibility for over N6tn in legacy debts accumulated between 2015 and 2025, while launching the Presidential Metering Initiative to address the country’s metering gap of more than seven million customers.

It added that the government had adjusted electricity tariffs towards cost-reflective rates to improve market liquidity while introducing measures to protect low-income consumers.

The council disclosed that over 1.5 million customers had been metered under the initiative in the last three years.

It also said the Rural Electrification Agency had connected universities, hospitals and rural communities to solar power, while plans were underway to modernise the over 60-year-old Osogbo Grid Control Centre and construct an East-West super grid.

Alake said the administration established a N4tn bond programme to settle verified legacy debts owed to 21 power-generating companies and gas companies.

The statement added, “The first and second tranches of the bond programme have raised over N1.2 trillion to settle part of the N4 trillion verified legacy debt. President Tinubu has repositioned the power sector and reduced market risk for future investment. The impact of this intervention is becoming evident in Gencos’ ability to make new investments to upgrade power plants. Just a few days ago, Geregu Power Plc announced investments in new power transformers to enhance operations at the Geregu 1 Power Plant. Other firms are making similar investments.

“President Tinubu inherited many power-sector initiatives, including the Presidential Power Initiative, which his predecessor, the late President Muhammadu Buhari, started. Upon assuming office, President Tinubu reviewed the existing agreement and signed an Acceleration Agreement in December 2023 to enable the FGN’s PPI and the German partners to move quickly to execute projects in the transmission network grid. By December 2024, the FEC approved the contract for the first batch of five TCN substations in key load centres to be upgraded to enhance electricity supply to industrial and private consumers in the areas. These projects are now being completed and will be commissioned before the end of the administration’s first term.

“In addition, in June 2026, the Federal Executive Council approved the contract for the second batch of projects to build eight new substations and upgrade four existing ones in targeted load centres. Power project implementation requires equipment that is a long-lead item and, thus, cannot be achieved overnight.

“President Tinubu quickly identified that unlocking the power sector requires resolving commercial challenges: operators need to charge cost-reflective tariffs, while electricity must remain affordable for most of the population. Marrying these two contrasting objectives requires careful planning and policy formulation. A first step was creating service bands with different tariffs to improve the financial viability of the distribution companies and improve cash flow in the sector. This has also reduced the government’s financial burden related to tariff subsidies. The administration will continue to explore ways to improve the commercial situation of the power sector while protecting access to electricity for the less privileged in society.”

The APC PCC maintained that efforts to reform the power sector were ongoing, adding that Tinubu would present his administration’s achievements and outstanding challenges in the sector to Nigerians as he seeks re-election in 2027.