Minister-designate for Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, has dismissed reports claiming he pledged to fix Nigeria’s troubled national grid within three months.
Tegbe, through his spokesperson, Adeola Adelabu, said comments he made during his Senate screening on May 6 were distorted and taken out of context.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the minister-designate clarified that he never promised to completely resolve the country’s electricity crisis within a three-month timeframe.
“Our attention has been drawn to inaccurate media reports alleging that the Honourable Minister-designate, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, promised to fix Nigeria’s power grid within three months.
“This claim is a clear misrepresentation of his remarks. At his Senate screening on May 6, 2026, Mr Tegbe made no such commitment,” the statement read.
According to the clarification, Tegbe only informed lawmakers that timelines for reforms in the electricity sector were still being developed and would depend on consultations, technical assessments, and stakeholder engagements.
The statement explained that the minister-designate merely assured senators that early measures aimed at stabilising the national grid would commence within his first 100 days in office, while broader reforms could take up to one year to produce significant results.
During the screening, Tegbe outlined plans focused on strengthening confidence in the power sector, addressing gas supply constraints, and expanding electricity metering nationwide.
“My promise to this chamber is that Nigerians will see visible improvement in the sector,” he was quoted as saying.
He also assured lawmakers of plans to stabilise the national grid, modernise electricity infrastructure, improve commercial operations, and enforce accountability across the power value chain.
On electricity tariffs, Tegbe reportedly said reforms under his leadership would seek to balance consumer protection with the need to maintain investor confidence in the sector.
The statement further noted that the minister-designate remains committed to transparency, measurable progress, and sustained engagement with the media as efforts intensify to tackle Nigeria’s lingering electricity challenges.
President Bola Tinubu recently nominated Tegbe as Minister of Power following the resignation of former minister Adebayo Adelabu.
The engineer and public policy expert appeared before the Senate earlier this week, where he highlighted plans to address grid instability, metering shortages, and infrastructure deficits in the power sector.
