Tinubu Govt Can’t Fix 50-Year Electricity Problem In One Year – Adelabu Tells Nigerians

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration cannot resolve the enduring power sector challenges that have lasted fifty years in a single year.

Adelabu, a former Oyo State governorship aspirant, stated this in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday.

He reassured the nation that the government is steadfastly and progressively working towards resolving the power sector’s challenges.

Adelabu said, “The problem we are having is an accumulated problem of over 50 years; it will not disappear in one year, but we’ve been making consistent and gradual progress.”

Similarly, the minister said the Federal Government is still paying subsidy on electricity despite the recent hike in tariff paid by Band A customers.

He said the government has about N1.8trn to pay in electricity subsidy for 2024, dismissing claims that the federal government had removed subsidy on electricity in 2022.

He stated that the reason the government is still paying the subsidy on electricity is the rising dollar, soaring gas prices, and the cost of power plants, transmission and distribution infrastructure, amongst others in the last two years.

Adelabu insisted that the Electricity Act of 2023 made provisions for the review of tariffs twice a year, contrary to the claim by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, that the increase in tariff paid by Band A consumers was illegal.