By Oke Peter
The Mambilla Hydropower Project stands today as a symbol of Nigeria’s enormous potential and equally enormous failures in turning vision into reality. Conceived over four decades ago and designed to generate about 3,050 megawatts of electricity, the project was meant to be a game changer for a country whose national grid still struggles to deliver stable power. In theory, Mambilla should be contributing significantly to the grid, reducing dependence on gas-fired plants and generators, and anchoring Nigeria’s transition to cleaner energy. In reality, it contributes nothing at all, remaining unfinished and locked in controversy.
Despite billions of dollars announced, committed, or negotiated over the years, no electricity from Mambilla flows into the national grid. The turbines are silent, the dams incomplete, and timelines have become elastic promises. What exists instead is a long trail of legal disputes, abandoned mobilisation, and shifting political interests that have repeatedly stalled progress. Energy experts argue that Nigeria’s grid would look fundamentally different today if even half of Mambilla’s projected capacity were operational, as it would provide stable baseload power that solar and gas plants alone cannot guarantee.
At the heart of the problem is corruption and poor governance. Funds earmarked for the project’s upgrade and execution were allegedly mismanaged or diverted through questionable contract awards. Investigations by anti-corruption agencies and the National Assembly have linked senior government officials and former power ministers to irregular approvals and payments, particularly around the controversial multi-billion-dollar contract awarded to Sunrise Power. While courts are still determining guilt, the broader damage is already done: years lost, investor confidence weakened, and a critical national asset left idle.
For communities on the Mambilla Plateau in Taraba State, the impact has been deeply personal. Villages that were promised roads, schools, hospitals, and jobs have seen little beyond intermittent construction activity and unfulfilled assurances. A local youth leader from the area lamented that the project raised expectations only to replace them with frustration. According to him, young people who trained as technicians or labourers in anticipation of work are now unemployed, while farmland was taken without the economic transformation that was promised. The sense of exclusion has bred resentment, even though many locals still support the project and want it completed.
Energy experts share this concern but also see a path forward. One power sector analyst noted that Mambilla’s failure is not technical but political and institutional. The hydrology is sound, the engineering designs are proven, and global financiers remain interested. What is missing is transparency, consistency, and political will. Without resolving outstanding legal disputes, enforcing strict financial oversight, and insulating the project from political cycles, Nigeria risks repeating the same mistakes.
Making Mambilla functional again requires a clear break from the past. All contractual and legal disputes must be conclusively resolved to allow uninterrupted construction. Funding must be openly tracked, with independent oversight to prevent diversion. Host communities must be treated as stakeholders, not spectators, through employment, compensation, and social infrastructure. Finally, government must commit to a realistic timeline and hold specific institutions accountable for delivery.
Until these steps are taken, Mambilla will remain what it is today: a powerful idea trapped by corruption and delay, and a reminder that Nigeria’s energy crisis is as much about governance as it is about generation.
