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Minister explains why FG couldn’t meet 6,000mgw electricity target
Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister for Power, has stated that the increasing incidents of vandalism targeting critical power transmission equipment hindered the achievement of the ambitious goal to generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity by December 2024.
He explained that the government had implemented measures to reach the milestone and was on track until multiple incidents of vandalism to electricity towers disrupted the plan.
The Special Adviser on Strategic Communication and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji, revealed this during an exclusive interview with Sunday PUNCH when asked about the reasons behind the failed projections.
Nigeria’s power generation currently ranges between 4,000 MW and 4,900 MW from 19 power generation plants, serving a population of approximately 200 million people.
Earlier this year, Adelabu pledged that power generation in Nigeria would reach 6,000MW by the end of the year, citing improvements in the sector over the past year.
However, the frequent collapse of the nation’s electricity grid and the vandalisation of towers ultimately affected the stability of the electricity supply, hindering efforts to raise the country’s power generation.
The special adviser, who had expressed optimism about reaching the target in a meeting with journalists in November, stated that approximately 1,000 megawatts had been added since the current administration took office.
He said, “If you look at the situation when the current administration took over, the generation was just about 4,000 megawatts. However, within a year, about 1,000 megawatts were added. By November 27, we again reached a target of 5,231 megawatts. Indeed, a promise of 6,000 megawatts was made, and with what we were doing, we felt it was achievable. Unfortunately, the work of vandals set us back a bit. We are not resting on our oars to ensure additional supply to the grid.”
As of November 2024, the Transmission Company of Nigeria stated that it had spent N8.8bn to repair and restore 128 vandalised transmission towers across the country.
He also mentioned another issue facing the sector: cash backing for subsidy payments, noting that only N450bn was budgeted for the current year, while the debt incurred for subsidy payments amounted to N2.3tn.
Bolaji said, “One of the key issues has been the cash backing of the subsidy, which relates to debt owed to generation companies and gas companies. This year’s subsidy will be approximately N2.3tn, but only N450bn was budgeted.
“Another issue has been the fragility of the transmission grid due to the level of vandalism.”
On possible solutions to improve generation in 2025, the media adviser said, “Firstly, the government will make improved provision in the budget for subsidies to ensure payments are made on time. We will continue to push to ensure the market continues to pay for the electricity consumed.
“The committee on revamping ageing equipment is also in place. The Federal Government has increased the budget allocation to the Ministry of Power and its agencies to ensure increased infrastructure investment.
“The minister continues to ensure a conducive environment for private sector participation, as this is the only way to provide the capital required for infrastructure improvements in the power sector,” he concluded.
The legal team of suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, say they are ready with factil evidence to defend her in court.
The team received a formal summons in the case filed against her by the Federal Government at the Federal Capital Territory High Court last week.
On Friday, May 16, 2025, the Federal Government filed the suit, marked CR/297/25, over alleged defamatory remarks made during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025.
The government accused the senator of “making imputation knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person”, citing Section 391 of the Penal Code, cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.
Among the witnesses listed to testify during the trial were Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
Others include Asuquo Ekpenyong, a senator; Sandra Duru; Maya Iliya, investigating police officers; and Abdulhafiz Garba, investigating police officers.
However, in a statement issued Friday night by Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa (SAN) on behalf of the legal team, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyers confirmed receipt of the formal summons and pledged to prepare all “factual and statutory defences” available to the lawmaker during trial.
“At about 2:30pm on Friday, May 23, 2025, within the premises of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, we received the information filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, containing three counts alleging that our client, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central, made imputations she had reason to believe would harm the reputation of Senator Godswill Akpabio, President of the 10th Senate,” the statement read.
“We received the said information on her behalf through a letter of authority duly issued and filed in the court’s registry.
“The legal team will fully prepare and present all factual and statutory defences available to our client during the trial.”
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will on Tuesday next week begin the take over of 4,794 properties in Abuja, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters, due to unpaid ground rent.
The PDP headquarters, currently under construction in Abuja’s Central Business District, is among the affected properties, having been revoked in March for several years of unpaid ground rent. The FCTA disclosed that 4,794 titles had been revoked for failure to pay ground rent, with some defaults dating back 43 years.
The affected properties are located in various districts, including Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape.
The defaulters owe over N6.96 billion in ground rent. The FCTA had given a 21-day grace period for owners with debts under 10 years, which has now expired.
The FCTA officials announced that the takeover would begin on Monday, May 26, 2025, with the sealing off and restriction of access to the affected properties.
The Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze emphasized that the revocations were carried out under Section 28(5)(a)(b) of the Land Use Act, which empowers the government to reclaim land when the terms of occupancy are violated.
Two people sustained serious injuries when a training aircraft crash-landed at the Ilorin International Airport on Friday.
Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Mrs Bimbo Oladeji, who disclosed this in a statement, said the incident occurred at 17:28 local time on May 23, 2025, during a simulated instrument approach on Runway 05 at Ilorin International Airport.
Oladeji said the aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop on the grass verge, leaving the two occupants on board injured.
She stated: “Both sustained serious injuries and were swiftly evacuated to a medical facility, coordinated by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA.
“In response, the NSIB Go-Team is currently preparing to depart from Abuja to Ilorin to conduct on-site investigations. The team will secure the site, collect physical evidence, interview witnesses, and retrieve operational data to establish the cause and contributing factors of the incident.”
Quoting the Director General of the NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., she said “Our thoughts are with the injured, and we commend the swift medical and emergency response. Now, our focus is on understanding exactly what went wrong. Every investigation is an opportunity to improve safety. We are deploying our team to Ilorin to ensure that no detail is overlooked.”
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