According to Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Advisor on Information and Strategy, structural bottlenecks, such as insufficient gas supply, outstanding debts owed to gas suppliers, and an antiquated national grid, are the country’s biggest electricity-related problem rather than a lack of generation capacity.
According to Naija News, Onanuga revealed this during an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday, criticizing Peter Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate for 2027, for his recent promise to boost Nigeria’s electricity production and distribution by at least 10,000 megawatts in four years.
Onanuga, however, refuted Peter Obi, claiming that Nigeria already has installed electrical generation capacity that surpasses the amount he pledged to provide if elected president in 2027.
He claims that the previous governor of Anambra State does not completely comprehend the potential of the nation’s current power infrastructure, emphasizing that the nation has not been able to fully utilize its installed generation capacity due to a series of problems in the power sector.
Onanuga pointed out that in order to maximize the efficiency of certain of the nation’s hydropower plants, Tinubu’s administration proposed the Grid Asset Management Company Limited (GAMCO).
He stated, “We already have stored capacity in Nigeria of 13,500 megawatts, which is something that people don’t know, and which sadly Peter Obi did not know when he came and said he’s going to generate 10,000 megawatts.”
What are the issues? There is no gas and the grid is out of date. This administration is attempting to pay off the roughly N4 trillion in legacy debt that the industry’s participants owe the gas companies.
Onanuga added that through legislative action and policy changes, Tinubu’s administration took the initiative to address long-standing limitations in the energy industry.
He added that power generation under the present government has improved compared to the level inherited in May 2023 and mentioned that numerous states have already started utilizing the new law.
“To demonstrate his commitment to business, he signed the Electricity Act as soon as he took office, allowing states to produce, transmit, and distribute electricity,” he said.
And although some states are using this, many will follow suit. The electrical industry will become more open and competitive as a result.
“Power production has gone up. The president met it, but we are not at that level. As I mentioned earlier, we have 13,500 megawatts installed, but some of them aren’t really working.
