By Oke Peter
The Honourable Minister of Power, Chief Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, has resumed office with a commitment to strengthening collaboration, improving governance, and enhancing accountability across Nigeria’s electricity value chain.
The Minister, who announced this during the inaugural meeting with Chief Executive Officers and Heads of Agencies and Parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Power on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, at the Headquarters in Abuja, stressed that achieving the Federal Government’s objectives for the power sector would require a unified approach among all stakeholders.
He highlighted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has set clear objectives for the sector, including boosting generation capacity, enhancing transmission capacity, strengthening sector liquidity, and accelerating investment in renewable energy. While recognising the progress achieved over the past three years, he emphasised that further work remains to be done. "We have made considerable progress, but we are not yet where we want to be because we have not met the targets set for us. I believe that by approaching things differently, we can achieve and even surpass those targets,” he stated.
Describing the power sector as vital to national development and economic growth, Chief Tegbe remarked that many of the industry's challenges arise from governance and coordination issues.
“This sector faces serious challenges. Technical issues account for only a fraction of those challenges. The larger challenge is governance. No agency, no department, no unit can solve this sector’s problems alone,” he said.
Calling for greater synergy among institutions, the Minister urged stakeholders to work as “one team with one mandate,” emphasising the importance of open communication, shared intelligence, and coordinated action in tackling long-standing sector challenges.
Highlighting the role of transmission in the electricity value chain, Chief Tegbe recognised the strategic importance of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and emphasised the need for ongoing efforts to strengthen the national grid. He particularly commended TCN for its responsiveness in addressing operational challenges, citing the recent restoration of supply following a feeder outage.
“TCN, I am happy with you. The feeder station went off and there was a series of communications. I gave a directive that it should be fixed within 12 hours. By 5:20 p.m., I received confirmation that it had been restored. That night, Mr. President was informed that the problem had been resolved within 12 hours,” he said.
He described the swift response as evidence of what can be achieved through commitment, teamwork, and effective coordination among sector operators.
The Minister further disclosed plans to introduce a performance-based incentive framework across the sector to reward productivity, innovation, and excellence, while assuring stakeholders of regular engagement and a transparent approach to addressing industry challenges.
Chief executive Officers of agencies and parastatals who attended the meeting included the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), FGN Power Company, and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), among others.
