President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken a decisive step toward addressing Nigeria’s persistent electricity challenges by presenting a proposal aimed at revamping the country’s power transmission system. The President personally tabled the proposal before the Federal Executive Council during its meeting held inside the Council Chambers of Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday. The initiative is designed to tackle longstanding weaknesses in the nation’s electricity transmission network, widely regarded as the most fragile component of the power supply chain.
Nigeria’s national grid has frequently suffered sudden collapses and instability, often leading to widespread power outages across several parts of the country. The repeated breakdowns have continued to undermine electricity generation and distribution efforts, despite ongoing reforms in the power sector. Following deliberations, the council approved the proposal and directed the establishment of an eight-member inter-ministerial committee tasked with developing the operational framework needed to implement the plan. The committee is expected to design strategies that will strengthen the transmission infrastructure, improve grid stability and ensure more reliable electricity supply nationwide. Members of the newly constituted panel include the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu; the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo.
Other members are the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; the Minister of Science and Technology, Kingsley Udeh; the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi; and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji. The panel will work collaboratively to develop policies, financing strategies and institutional frameworks required to address structural challenges in the electricity transmission system.
Officials say the committee’s work is expected to focus on strengthening the national grid, improving energy infrastructure and ensuring that electricity generated across the country can be transmitted efficiently to distribution networks. The initiative forms part of broader efforts by the Tinubu administration to reform Nigeria’s power sector and deliver more stable electricity supply to homes, businesses and industries.
Energy experts have long argued that while electricity generation capacity has improved over the years, the transmission network remains a major bottleneck that prevents the efficient delivery of power across the country. The government believes that strengthening the transmission segment of the electricity value chain will significantly improve the overall performance of the sector and reduce the frequency of nationwide power disruptions.
The inter-ministerial committee is expected to submit recommendations that will guide the implementation of the proposed reforms and support the administration’s goal of achieving a more stable and reliable power supply for Nigerians.
