President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not abandoned his campaign promise to end estimated electricity billing and improve power supply across the country, the spokesperson of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, has said.
Alake stated this in a statement on Sunday while outlining the administration’s interventions in the power sector since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
He recalled that during a meeting with members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) in Lagos ahead of the 2023 general elections, Tinubu promised to address the longstanding challenges in the electricity sector, particularly estimated billing.
At the meeting, Tinubu had declared: “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.”
He also challenged Nigerians to hold him accountable, saying they should not re-elect him if he failed to fulfil the promise without providing adequate reasons.
Alake, however, argued that some public commentary had reproduced the pledge without its concluding qualification, which he said required the President to explain any failure to deliver before seeking a second term.
He maintained that the administration’s performance should be assessed against measurable progress in electricity supply, metering, infrastructure development and market stability.
According to him, Tinubu signed the Electricity Act 2023 on June 9, less than two weeks after assuming office, thereby allowing state governments to participate independently in electricity generation, transmission and distribution.
He said states including Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Kaduna and Niger had taken advantage of the legislation by establishing electricity regulatory agencies and attracting private investment into their power sectors.
Alake also said the President had inherited more than N6 trillion in legacy debts accumulated between 2015 and 2025 and initiated measures to address the financial challenges confronting the sector.
He listed the Presidential Metering Initiative as one of the administration’s major interventions, noting that it was designed to bridge a metering gap of more than seven million customers.
The APC spokesperson said more than 1.5 million electricity customers had been metered under the initiative in the last three years.
He added that the administration had introduced tariff adjustments to improve the financial viability of the electricity market while putting measures in place to protect low-income households.
On outstanding debts owed to operators, Alake disclosed that the Federal Government had established a N4 trillion bond program to settle verified legacy debts owed to 21 power generation companies (GenCos) and gas companies (GasCos).
He said the first and second tranches of the program had raised more than N1.2 trillion towards settling the outstanding obligations.
According to him, the debt-settlement initiative is expected to reduce market risks and encourage fresh investments in power generation.
He cited recent investments announced by Geregu Power Plc in new power transformers to improve operations at its Geregu 1 Power Plant as an indication of renewed investment activity in the sector.
Alake further explained that the Tinubu administration had reviewed and accelerated the implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), originally introduced under the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said an acceleration agreement was signed with German partners in December 2023 to fast-track projects aimed at strengthening the national transmission grid.
By December 2024, the Federal Executive Council had approved the first batch of projects involving the upgrade of five Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) substations in strategic load centres.
He said the projects were at various stages of completion and were expected to be commissioned before the end of the administration’s first term.
Alake added that the Federal Executive Council approved another batch of projects in June 2026, involving the construction of eight new substations and the upgrading of four existing facilities.
He noted that power infrastructure projects required specialised equipment with long delivery periods, making immediate results difficult to achieve.
On electricity tariffs, the APC spokesperson said the administration recognised the challenge of balancing the need for cost-reflective tariffs to sustain operators with the affordability of electricity for ordinary Nigerians.
He explained that the introduction of different electricity service bands was intended to improve revenue collection by distribution companies, strengthen cash flow across the market and reduce the government’s financial burden arising from tariff subsidies.
He said the government would continue to explore measures to improve the commercial viability of the electricity sector while protecting vulnerable households.
Alake also disclosed that the Rural Electrification Agency had connected universities, hospitals and rural communities to solar power, while the government was pursuing plans to modernize the Osogbo Grid Control Centre, which he said was more than 60 years old, and develop an East-West super grid.
He acknowledged that resolving Nigeria’s electricity challenges remained an ongoing process but insisted that Tinubu had remained committed to his campaign pledge.
“As he seeks Nigerians’ mandate for a second term in office, he will proudly present his scorecard in the power sector and clearly tell Nigerians what remains to be done,” Alake said.
