The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has said sorry to Nigerians for the long and painful blackouts seen over the past months under President Bola Tinubu.
He admitted that the situation has made life harder for people at home, in businesses, schools, and factories, especially during the hot dry season.
He spoke on Tuesday at a press conference in Abuja, where he addressed growing anger over the unstable power supply. Many people across the country have been struggling as rising heat has increased the need for electricity, especially for cooling.
In a rare and very direct statement, Adelabu said he takes responsibility and regrets the situation. He explained that the outages have caused serious problems for daily life and the economy. He added that although the government did not want this to happen, some of the causes were outside its control.
He pointed to major issues like gas supply problems, which have affected power generation. Nigeria depends heavily on gas powered plants, and when gas supply drops, electricity output falls. Maintenance work on pipelines and money problems in the sector have made things worse.
Still, the minister gave hope that things will improve soon. He said that within two weeks, Nigerians should start seeing better electricity supply. This is based on promises from gas suppliers and expected repairs to key pipelines.
He mentioned that work involving facilities run by Seplat Energy is already underway, and once completed, gas flow to power plants should return to normal.
To prevent future problems, the government has set up a special committee. Its job is to make sure gas companies meet their duty to supply gas for local power generation. Adelabu said better payment systems will also encourage suppliers to deliver more gas.
He added that his team is working around the clock to fix the situation and return to the progress seen in 2025, when many Nigerians praised improvements in electricity supply.
Looking ahead, the government plans to increase power generation to 6000 megawatts before the end of 2026. Adelabu said this current crisis is only temporary and part of a larger plan to improve electricity across the country.
He promised that generation, transmission, and distribution will all get better, and that Nigerians will benefit from stronger and more reliable power.
Nigeria’s electricity sector has faced many long standing problems, including weak gas supply, old equipment, limited transmission capacity, and financial challenges. The government says it is working to fix these issues and build a more stable power system.
