Adelabu’s Power Lines as Laundry Lines, by Azu Ishiekwene

In many parts of the country, the rains poured down earlier in the week, bringing much physical and psychological relief from the searing heat.

The absence of electricity from public supply channels made it worse. Average daytime temperatures throughout March ranged from 33 degrees to 38 degrees centigrade in Lagos and Abuja, respectively.

Nigeria’s public electricity grid must rank among the most intractable problems any developing country could face. There is hardly anything more constant than the announcement of grid collapse, which leaves businesses and homes seeking alternatives and incurring unplanned expenses while paying for electricity not supplied.

What Candidate Tinubu Promised

During his 2023 campaign, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said that if he didn’t fix the problem, he shouldn’t be voted in for a second term. He must be regretting that statement now.

Since the beginning of his administration in May 2023, there have been multiple grid collapses, with the highest number recorded in 2024 at 12. Even when incidents were fewer, sporadic outages have continued.

The failure, on face value, is attributed to a mix of technical, structural and administrative weaknesses in the system. But there is more to it in the sense in which it is said: “The more you see, the less you understand.”

So unreliable is the public electricity supply that the Presidential Villa appropriated ₦10 billion in 2025, and an additional ₦7 billion in 2026 for the installation of a solar mini-grid that will effectively disconnect Nigeria’s seat of power from the national grid.

This grid remains bedevilled by ageing transmission lines, which collapse repeatedly due to sabotage, poor maintenance, and frequency imbalances.

The Joke Is on Us

Nigerians, ever ready to make a jest of their tragic maladies and long suffering, are beaten when it comes to power outages. They are shocked beyond humour.

If the high-tension cables were not too high overhead, people in communities through which they run would not hesitate to hang their laundry on them—knowing from experience that the lines are just part of the landscape and are very likely to be without electricity.

I have seen a video of a masquerade performing on a streetlight pole. Of course, the crowd applauded its invincibility; yet, both the crowd and the masquerade knew better. The lines had not been electrified for months and were unlikely to be for the duration of the spectacle.

Hope was rekindled at the beginning of the Tinubu administration when news filtered through that the embattled former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, had not only produced a blueprint but was going to be given the assignment of fixing Nigeria’s notorious electricity sector.

I learnt reliably that, as part of his plan, El-Rufai was discussing a $10 billion investment agreement with Saudi partners before he ran into political headwinds.

The Coming of Adelabu

That was how Adebayo Adelabu took the job—a role at which he has performed so disastrously that saying he failed would be an honour.

But it’s not entirely his fault. The responsibility also lies with the President who appointed him and the Senate that cleared him for a job he was clearly unprepared for, either based on his record or any realistic expectation of redemption.

Adelabu is brilliant, but the power sector is littered with the remains of brilliant people, among whom he is now a fossil.

His better years were when he worked as an auditor at PwC. He also served as Executive Director/CFO at First Bank, and later as a deputy governor at the Central Bank. He may not have been directly responsible for the misfortunes of these institutions at the time, but he does not exactly emerge unblemished.

In the normal course of things, his banking career should have been a cautionary signal. Still, Nigeria being Nigeria, the quota system and political connections ensured that he defied gravity.

Then, in 2023, Tinubu appointed him Minister of Power after his failed bid to become governor of Oyo State under the Accord Party. That only worsened the situation.

Adelabu will be best remembered for introducing parallel electricity payment bands that do not necessarily reflect improved service delivery.

The issue is not just that Adelabu failed at his job; it is the lack of evidence that he even tried.

Mr Dan Kunle, an energy expert familiar with the sector, said:

“No one is saying a power minister should magically produce resources. His role is to create a solid framework that attracts investment and enables intervention.”

Adelabu, like many of his predecessors, appears to be running the power ministry in 2026 using a 1950 operational manual inherited from the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN).

Even then, when Nigeria’s population was about 50 million, the British understood that electricity was an economic good. To ensure sustainability, they prioritised not only administrative centres but also areas capable of paying.

That was why coal was transported from Enugu to the Ijora Power Station in Lagos.

No Roadmap

Adelabu appears to have no roadmap—or if one exists for a population now four times larger than during the ECN era, it leads nowhere.

The same challenges persist: gas shortages, moribund plants, infrastructure deficits, massive debts, and frequent grid collapses. These issues have limited supply to about 4,000 megawatts despite an installed capacity of 13,000 megawatts.

While Adelabu may express frustration alongside Nigerians when the lights go out, the sector is weighed down by ₦6 trillion in debt as of late 2025. This crisis is fuelled by non-cost-reflective tariffs and unpaid obligations to generating and distribution companies.

Although some of these challenges predate his tenure, his leadership has done little to improve the situation.

Yet, he remains politically ambitious—not to redeem his record, but to pursue the governorship of Oyo State.

He appears convinced that poor performance is no barrier to higher office.

It seemingly does not trouble him that Nigerian businesses rely heavily on Indian generators, while households turn increasingly to Chinese solar systems.

Examples from Africa

Egypt, with a population of about 110 million, has achieved near-universal electricity access, largely powered by gas (81 percent) and supported by hydropower and other low-carbon sources.

South Africa supplies electricity to about 85–90 percent of its 62 million people but struggles with frequent load shedding due to Eskom’s debt and ageing infrastructure.

Ghana reaches approximately 88–89 percent of its 34 million citizens, with near-total access in urban areas, though rural gaps persist.

Kenya has achieved about 76 percent coverage for its 56 million people, with strong progress driven by geothermal energy, even as rural expansion continues.

In contrast, only about 57 percent of Nigerians are connected to the grid. Power outages occur up to 85 percent of the time, compounded by poor metering, estimated billing, and systemic inefficiencies.

After observing Adelabu’s performance over the past two years, one might have expected a quiet exit.

But since that seems unlikely, perhaps the next test should be closer home—letting him demonstrate how he would turn Oyo State from darkness into light.

Ishiekwene is the Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of “Writing for Media and Monetising It.”