Experts Reject Nigeria’s Power Policy, Demand Review of Privatisa...

Samuel Mobolaji

Persistent challenges in Nigeria’s electricity sector have reignited calls from industry experts for a thorough review of the recently ratified National Integrated Electricity Policy (NIEP) and a reassessment of the privatisation framework that underpins the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

Following the Federal Executive Council’s approval of the NIEP, submitted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu since December 2024, stakeholders have expressed strong reservations over key provisions in the roadmap. Many of them claim the roadmap is unworkable and shaped by foreign consultants without sufficient local input.

Multiple industry representatives have faulted the policy for failing to address the sector’s structural issues. Some of the provisions, while not publicly disclosed, are said to be at odds with Nigeria’s economic realities and could deepen the sector’s inefficiencies. Sources confirmed that these concerns have been formally communicated to the Minister of Power.

President of the Nigerian Consumer Protection Network, Kunle Kola Olubiyo, called for a high-level stakeholders’ forum to examine the policy’s flaws. He criticised the roadmap for overlooking long-standing issues, including poor electrification, erratic power supply, and limited access to reliable electricity—factors he said continue to hinder industrial and economic growth.

Similarly, the Executive Director of PowerUp Nigeria, Adetayo Adegbemle, expressed disappointment that the policy offers neither a clear diagnosis of present challenges nor a compelling vision for the future. He argued that the heavy emphasis on renewable energy lacks balance and does not reflect the country’s immediate needs.

“We’ve seen how over-reliance on renewables has affected economies like Germany’s, where factories are shutting down due to energy constraints,” Adegbemle warned.

He also criticised the policy’s financial projections—particularly its ambition to raise $122 million by 2040—as vague and unsupported by credible implementation strategies. He added that plans to upgrade the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) into a full-fledged energy exchange contradict provisions in the new Electricity Act, which favours unbundling the Transmission Company of Nigeria and establishing an Independent System Operator.

Adegbemle stressed that without concrete solutions to issues like energy sufficiency, infrastructure gaps, and financing mechanisms, the policy will remain a missed opportunity.

Despite Nigeria’s installed generation capacity of 13,625 megawatts, recent figures from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) show that only about 5,339 megawatts are being dispatched—a stark indicator of the sector’s underperformance.

With dissenting voices growing louder, pressure is mounting on the Federal Government to revisit the NIEP and recalibrate its strategies toward a more realistic, inclusive, and sustainable energy future.