As Power Minister, Nigeria Recorded Over 25 Grid Collapses Under Adelabu

…Aso Rock Grid Exit Underscores Power Sector Failure-Experts

Nigeria’s power sector recorded more than 25 national grid collapses since August 2023, when Chief Adebayo Adelabu assumed office as Minister of Power, findings by THE WHISTLER have shown.

Adelabu, who resigned his ministerial position to contest the 2027 governorship election in Oyo State, was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on August 16, 2023.

Data compiled from industry reports showed that the recurrence of grid failures resumed shortly after Adelabu took over as minister.

A breakdown of the data showed that between August and December 2023 alone, Nigeria recorded three major collapses.

According to the data, the September 14 collapse was linked to a fire outbreak on a major transmission line and a subsequent failure on September 19.

However, the year ended with a December 11 collapse caused by vandalism on the Gwagwalada–Kukwaba–Apo 132kV line.

In 2024, the findings showed that the situation deteriorated, with at least 10 to 12 incidents reported across the year.

During the year under review, major system failures were recorded on February 4, March 28, April 15, July 16, and August 5, among others.

The month of October witnessed multiple disturbances, including a full collapse on October 14, a partial collapse on October 15, and further system disruptions on October 19.

Also, another setback, according to the report recorded in early November.

In 2025, at least one collapse was recorded on February 12, alongside other system disturbances later in the year.

By January 2026, the grid had suffered fresh collapses on January 23 and January 27.

But while the immediate past Minister argued that not all recorded incidents qualify as full system collapses, he apologised for the blackout across the country.

THE WHISTLER recalled that the former minister had, on March 24, admitted that the current blackout across Nigerian cities is beyond his control.

He tendered a public apology to Nigerians over the crippling and persistent outages witnessed in the last month.

Speaking with THE WHISTER in Abuja on behalf of electricity consumers, Comrade Uket Obonga, said his tenure would be judged based on the availability of power supply, and described it as colossal.

Obonga, who is the Executive Secretary of the Power and Energy Consumers Advocates of Nigeria (PECAN), said Adelabu failed to raise generation, transmission and distribution to 6,000 MW at the end of December 2024.

He said, “The (former) minister will be judged based on the availability of the power supply. You see, nowadays, we are hearing communities completely. It is not we, the elites, who go to rural areas, go to the countryside, go to suburban centres, or even go to suburban centres and find out from them.

“He told us he was going to raise generation transmission and distribution to 6,000 MW. Did it happen at the end of 2024 December? Did it happen? No.

“All that the (former) minister succeeded in doing was to re-roll the commission into tariff bands, an increase in band A, which he took his own calculator and said manufacturers are spending a certain amount of money in a day.

“What has happened? Have you assessed or has anyone of you done any research to find out how many premium consumers that is within the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria, how many of them have exited the national grid?

“How many people are exiting the National Grid? Is that a problem? If you want to assess the (former) Minister, go to the World Bank report that says that 90 million Nigerians don’t have access to electricity in Nigeria.

“And we hold that global record of a country that has the highest number of people without access to electricity. So that is how you assess the (former) Minister’’.

Obonga, who is also the National Secretary of the Nigeria Electricity Consumer Advocacy Network (NECAN), continued: “We will now go to the number of grid collapses, the performance of TCN, and the performance of other agencies. Have they delivered?

“That is what you have to tell Nigerians, and compare that to the review. Two years of business, that will make you, you report it as it is, a colossal failure.

“Who talked more than what it could deliver? The minister, did he not apologise to Nigerians? He did. He said they have not done well, and the power sector has not felt better. The man himself confessed to that and apologised.’’

Also, the former General Manager of Corporate Communications at the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Barrister Bode Fadipe, told THE WHISTLER that Adelabu’s tenure did not provide a significant change in the power sector.

Fadipe, who is also the CEO of Sage Consulting
Communications, said it was under his watch that Aso Rock Villa exited the national grid.

He said, “His tenure did not produce any significant change in the entire value chain. Whether in transmission, generation or distribution, our problems have not changed.

“Metering remains a black box, while the cost of the commodity and revenue recovery continue to suffer setbacks. Was it not in his time that Band A went to over N200 per unit, yet Band A customers are still groaning.

“To his credit, the seat of power, i.e., Aso Rock Villa, exited the national grid, and it was celebrated as a landmark event’’.