Politically speaking, one can score the President Muhammadu Buhari administration average in its performance in the power sector because of the several programs and reforms it carried out in the last seven and half years that it was in power. Now in the twilight of its tenure, there have been some visible motions and movements in the power sector, which if sustained can lead to the rapid economic development of the country.
Since he assumed power in 2015, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government embarked on several projects among which is the ambitious Presidential Power Initiative with German-based Siemens that is expected to modernize the country’s national grid and deliver 7,000MW by 2021, 11,00MW by 2023 and 25,000MW to the nation by 2025. Although the nation’s available generation capacity is still a far cry from the above template, some achievements have been recorded with the delivery and ongoing installation of power transformers at different locations across the country and the training of personnel.
In addition, the government has completed the 700MW Zungeru hydro plant in Niger state, 40MW Dadin-Kowa hydro station in Gombe state as well as 45MW TAOPEX thermal plant (a privately-owned facility) in Lagos state and many transmission projects like the 330/132/33kV Lafia transmission station on the 330kV Jos-Lafia-Makurdi DC line.
Also, the federal government is reported to have given bailout worth N1.5trn to the sector to help the sector meet some of its financial and commercial obligations as well as embarking on the recruitment and training of newly-employed staff of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
To boost power supply across the country, the federal government created programs for off-grid electrification projects and recently, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, unveiled the Afam 3 Fast Power 240MW in Rivers state and announced Transcorp Group as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of the troubled Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
Last but not the least, President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law the constitutional amendment allowing states in the country to license, generate, transmit and distribute electricity in areas covered by the national grid. This law is a major reform in the power sector as the matter of electricity that was hitherto in the exclusive list, has been moved to the concurrent list, thereby opening up the sector to more players and increased investment.
Following from the above, it is expected that after his swearing-in on the 29th of May, the incoming administration of President-elect, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, will sustain this momentum by paying more attention to the power sector because improving the power supply in Nigeria is capable of kick-starting our ailing economy.