Tinubu Laments Nigeria’s Power Sector: Underperformance and Underinvestment

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu expressed his dismay at Nigeria’s power sector, which he described as caught in a vicious cycle of underperformance and underinvestment.

Delivering a speech on Monday at the annual Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry Market Participants and Stakeholder Roundtable in Abuja, President Tinubu highlighted the fact that over 90 million Nigerians still lack access to electricity, even ten years after the privatization of the power sector in November 2013.

He specifically emphasized the chronic underinvestment in transmission and distribution, which has contributed to the sector’s poor performance.

Tinubu noted that the Distribution Companies (DisCos) require a minimum of N2 trillion in recapitalization to kickstart improvement in this critical value chain.

“The sector has suffered chronic underinvestment, especially in transmission and distribution. Many of the successor utilities of the PHCN have failed to meet their performance improvement targets due to technical and financial capacity issues,” Tinubu stated.

He further added, “We are in a vicious cycle of under-performance and under-investment, and everyone has a different view of which value chain player should be blamed for continued sector malaise.”

Tinubu highlighted the need for a reorganization and recapitalization process that attracts new partners and capital to revitalize this crucial portion of the value chain.