Minister of power Joseph Tegbe has thanked president bola tinubu for his appointment as minister of the federal republic of Nigeria promising to initiate policies that would help position the nation’s power sector for economic growth in the country.
The minister made the promise shortly after his swearing-in by the president on Monday at the presidential villa in Nigeria’s federal capital, Abuja.
Tegbe noted that since the Senate’s confirmation of his appointment, he has longed hit the ground running, declaring that within the period and working with other members of his team he has drawn up a structured power sector reform strategy anchored on execution, discipline, clear milestones, and public accountability. The minister also noted that there have been series of substantive engagements with all critical sector agencies; the Ministry of Power, Transmission Company of Nigeria, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Rural Electrification Agency, the Nigerian Independent System Operator, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company, and FGN Power Company, among other players all with a view of setting new standards for the overall development of the sector, declaring that in all of these engagements, the critical sectors have been supportive, an indication he said brings renewed hope to the nation’s power sector.
The minister said his team has also held productive discussions with International Development Organizations and funding agencies/ partners; whom he noted have expressed willingness to provide liquidity support to the sector; a significant vote of confidence he said is in the direction of Nigeria’s power sector reforms.
According to him, Preliminary results are already visible. The 450-Megawatt Alaoji Open Cycle Power Plant in Abia State, which had been shut down for three years, has been revived by NDPHC, with up to 375 Megawatts now available for dispatch to the national grid. TCN has energized new transmission assets at Katampe in Abuja, and at substations in Ayede and Abeokuta, strengthening grid capacity across multiple regions. When a 100MVA transformer failed unexpectedly in Abuja, TCN and AEDC teams worked through the night and fully restored supply within 24 hours the minister further explained.
On the regulatory end, the minister of power said NERC has recently directed Distribution Companies to compensate Band A customers for supply shortfalls recorded earlier this year — a firm signal that consumers will be protected and that operators will be held accountable under his watch.
In his words, “All of these happened, not by accident but because of the renewed commitment of our people. I wish to take this opportunity to commend, sincerely and unreservedly, the Management and Staff of the Federal Ministry of Power and all its agencies for their renewed dedication, professionalism, and cooperative spirit over the past month”
” I equally commend our private sector partners who have shown genuine willingness to work with us toward common goals. I assure all of them: under this leadership, productivity and excellence will always be acknowledged and rewarded”
The minister called on Nigerians to demonstrate understanding noting that the challenges that have kept the sector below its potential have been largely due to decades of negligence that will not be fully reversed in weeks or months.
“Let me reiterate the commitment made before the Senate, I will not promise what I cannot deliver, but I promise visible improvement as you have been seeing, and I will continue to communicate honestly with you every step of the way. You will see the progress as it happens”
“The destination is clear, reliable and affordable electricity for every Nigerian home, business, and industry, around the clock. That journey is a long one. But under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, we are firmly headed in the right direction” he concluded.
