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The Federal Government has apologised to Nigerians over power outages but is promising improvements across the country in the coming days.
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, made the promise on Tuesday during a press conference on his achievements in the last three years.
“I want to apologise to Nigerians, officially now, coming from me as the minister of power, for this temporary issue that is leading to hardship being experienced, especially during this dry season, where there is so much heat everywhere,” he said.
“Businesses are being affected, schools have been affected, and industries have been affected. It is not our wish to find ourselves in this situation, but it is due to some factors that are actually beyond our control.”
The minister attributed the current challenges to gas supply shortfalls to the generation companies due to the huge amounts of money owed to gas suppliers.
He hinted that the current war in the Middle East could further worsen the problems.
Nigerians have experienced power outages in recent weeks, leading to calls on authorities to address the issue.
The country’s power sector relies on gas-fired plants. But they have continued to face disruptions largely due to inadequate gas supply, pipeline maintenance issues, ageing infrastructure, and liquidity constraints.
“These issues collectively impact both the quantity and quality of gas delivered to power plants, leading to underutilisation of installed generation capacity, increased outages, and inefficiencies in power production,” the minister said.
To address this challenge, the minister suggested “scaling up renewable energy solutions, particularly off-grid and mini-grid systems”.
“Renewable energy offers a cost-effective and sustainable pathway to expand access without overburdening the national grid,” he said.
He also called for the integration of additional renewable energy into the grid. The minister said this will help diversify energy sources and reduce overall generation costs, particularly by lowering dependence on gas-fired power.
“Integrating utility-scale solar, hydro, and other renewables will also enhance energy security and support climate objectives,” he said.
“This will require investments in grid monitoring and control systems and system planning to effectively manage intermittency while maintaining grid stability.”
Away from the power sector, Adelabu, whom observers suggest is eyeing the Oyo governorship seat in the 2027 elections, did not confirm if he is contesting for the post.
President Bola Tinubu gave appointees at the federal level a March 31st deadline to resign if they have political ambitions.
But the minister says he still has some days until the deadline. He insisted that, either at the national or subnational level, he aims to serve.
Pascal Arogorn Ibe
