Adelabu And Oyo Governorship Race

Barely a week after Minister Adebayo Adelabu apologised to Nigerians for the deplorable state of power supply, largely due to his failure to make any meaningful impact in resolving the nation’s persistent power issues, media report surfaced that he resigned. Intriguingly, he did not resign due to his inability to perform. The report said he threw in the towel in accordance with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to pursue his ambition of governing Oyo State.

Shortly after the news of his purported resignation started trending, there was a refuttal. Although Adelabu himself has yet to either confirm or debunk the supposed resignation, his aide told The Cable that the Minister has not resigned. Adelabu has for long been associated with the race for Oyo gubernatorial seat.

How an Adelabu, with an abysmal record of performance as Minister of Power, mustered the audacity to want to govern a state is one of the wonders of Nigeria. Seeking a higher public office after failing woefully as Minister required nerves, and one can only stand aghast at Adelabu’s rude effrontery. Even the term, unconcealed barefaced impudence, seems to me the mildest by which such action can be described.

Only in Nigeria

It is only in Nigeria that individuals who have failed to deliver in one public office would have the courage to face the citizens and seek another office, in this case, an even higher one with more responsibility. Ours is a political culture that favours sitting tight in office over accountability.

The Bola Tinubu cabinet is filled with mediocre ministers who have no valid reason to be there. They performed poorly. And the man overseeing the nation’s power ministry appears to be way ahead of the pack of those whose performance falls far below expectations. The dire state of power, which caused Adelabu to apologise to Nigerians, is all one needs to see to recognise that his performance was below par.

Under Minister Adelabu, the country faced repeated power outages that increased the hardship for many Nigerians, especially small and medium-sized businesses that rely heavily on electricity. And as Adelabu himself admitted, businesses, schools, industries, and indeed Nigerian families bear the brunt of repeated grid collapse which underscores the government’s failure to address the power supply issue.

As they always do, the Minister was swift to inform Nigerians that the country needed over $100 billion in combined government and private-sector investments to improve the power sector.

Sorry state of power

Electricity supply has remained erratic, with generation levels in the past few months fluctuating between 2,000 and 4,000 megawatts. This is utterly too poor for the country’s over 200 million population. Electricity distribution companies (Discos) have attributed the situation to reduced generation, while generation companies (Gencos) blame gas supply constraints linked to mounting debts reportedly exceeding N4 trillion. The crisis has left households and businesses struggling with unreliable power supply nationwide.

Nigeria is facing serious energy deficit as power supply continues to wobble forcing the very few who have the means, to resort to using alternatives like solar. Even the Presidential Villa has gone off the national grid. A 2022 report on Africa’s total energy supply per person did not even rank Nigeria in the top ten despite the country’s abundant natural resources. Leading the list were Libya, Gabon, South Africa, Algeria, and Egypt, among others.

The lack of a stable power supply remains one of Nigeria’s most critical infrastructure challenges, hindering the growth of businesses, especially small and medium enterprises that rely heavily on dependable electricity to prosper. Despite being endowed with gas and crude oil resources, Nigeria is ranked among countries with a large proportion of people without access to electricity. Around 86 million Nigerians lack power, making the country the global leader in electricity shortfall.

Beyond the numbers, Nigeria’s power sector is plagued with corruption. Over the years, billions of naira have been allocated to improve electricity supply, yet much of this money is either mismanaged or outrightly stolen. The consequences of this inefficiency are severe.

Industries are shutting down due to high energy costs, and foreign investors remain hesitant to invest in a country with an unpredictable power supply. According to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, industries spent N93.1 billion on alternative energy sources in just one year.

The power sector crisis worsens due to two key issues: accessibility and affordability. Despite supposed investments, low-income earners in urban slums and rural areas largely lack access to electricity. The Rural Electrification Agency has promised to provide power to 25 million Nigerians within three years, but until that promise is kept, the situation remains bleak. Most Nigerians still rely on generators, incurring all the costs to meet their basic energy needs.

Unimpressive performance

This is the story of power before and during Adelabu’s time as minister. His performance has been anything but impressive. This is one minister of power who has everything except direction and innovation. How a President who promised to improve the electricity supply harbours a minister who continues to oversee the current realities in the power sector falls far short of expectations.

It is true that the current issues in the power sector stem from years of governance failures, corruption, and poor leadership. However, it is tragic that even though he performed woefully as power minister, with no clear agenda for the power sector, Adelabu aims to govern Oyo State.

What did Adelabu, as minister, promised Nigerians? What did he deliver? The national grid is collapsing, and gas plants are shutting down over N6.8 trillion in unpaid debt. This is part of the records Adelabu hopes to take to Oyo? Is this the scorecard he plans to present during his campaigns and still expect the Oyo voters to support his aspiration?

The Oyo electorate must do the needful: reject all those whose records are below expectations. There is a need to have a repeat of what happened in 2019 and 2023 when Adelabu lost to Makinde. The people of the state must reject him like a plague. “Affliction shall not arise a second time.”

Another Loan, Another Lamentation

This week, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sought, and, as usual, obtained, the national assembly’s expeditious approval for yet another loan. This time, the Villa is seeking to take a $6bn loan. At the current exchange rate of dollar to naira, that is about N8.4trillion. In a letter to the Lawmakers, Tinubu said the loan was to help cover the country’s budget deficit and support debt financing obligations, and to fund the rehabilitation of key port infrastructure projects, including the Lagos Port Complex and the Tin Can Island port.

Before you could say Akpa, the Senate has approved the president’s request without thorough scrutiny. But the questions remain: what happens to the series of loans collected so far? What will be different about this new loan? Is the fresh loan not part of the grand plan to mop up funds for election funding? As at the last count, Nigeria’s debt profile stands at N159trn. From May 2023, when he assumed office, to date, President Tinubu has taken the country’s debt profile from N87trn to the current figure, having borrowed serially from different multilateral organisations.