Constrained by constant collapse of the National Grid and total outages, leading to protests across the country, Nigerians no longer believe that much like his predecessors, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be able to fulfill his campaign promise of providing them stable power supply, which he said, should be the yardstick for his election and re-election
By Edu Abade
There are strong indications that the constant power outage in Nigeria may not be over soon due to a number of factors including dilapidated electricity infrastructure, generation and distribution challenges, vandalism and theft of power distribution lines in parts of the country, as well as inadequate supply of gas, among others.
Besides the constant collapse of the national grid, which often throws most parts of the country into darkness, it has been revealed that the power shortage across Nigeria may worsen as suppliers have reduced the amount of gas they supply to thermal power plants.
Much like the insecurity challenges, the power situation in the country has become so dire that most Nigerians are beginning to doubt the capacity of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to deliver on his campaign promise to provide uninterrupted electricity supply across the country.
Amid the power outage disaster across the country, an old video of President Tinubu promising constant electricity resurfaced on the internet across the country.
Tentacle recalled that during the presidential campaign tour in December 2022, President Tinubu had declared that if elected, by all means necessary, Nigerians will have constant power supply. In the video, the President declared that if his promise is not kept, Nigerians should not vote for him when he seeks re-election.
His words, “Whichever way, by all means necessary, you will have electricity, and you will not pay for estimated bill anymore. A promise made will be a promise kept. If I don’t keep the promise and I come for a second time, don’t vote for me, unless I give you adequate reasons why I couldn’t deliver.”
Only recently, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) stated that thermal power plants require an estimated 1,629.75 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to operate at optimal capacity.
However, as of February 23, 2026, actual supply stood at just about 692.00 mmscf per day, representing less than 43 per cent of the required volume. The development is coming amid blackouts in most states and crippling businesses.
Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, Dr. Joy Ogaji, during an interview cautioned that the mounting debt across the power value chain is pushing the sector towards a major crisis.
Speaking on the situation, Ogaji alleged that the crisis stemmed from the failure of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc to fully pay for electricity generated by GenCos since the sector’s privatization.
She disclosed that the government currently owes generation companies about N6.8 trillion, with roughly 70 per cent of the amount relating to thermal plants, maintaining that about 70 per cent of whatever the government owes gas-fired power plants belongs to gas suppliers, meaning that gas companies are owed about N3.3 trillion out of the N4.76 trillion tied to thermal generation.
Ogaji disclosed that suppliers have informed generation companies that they will no longer supply gas to power plants unless payments are made.
“NBET is set up to buy power from GenCos and sell to DisCos. The aim is that, as they buy power, they will pay in full, but since 2013 till today, they’ve never paid in full, so this debt is now N6.8 trillion,” she said.
Providing a breakdown of the debt, Ogaji stated that the liabilities have grown significantly over time.
“From 2015 to December 2024, the debt profile grew to N4 trillion. In each month of 2025, there is a shortfall of N200 billion. So, if you calculate N200 billion times 12, it comes to N2.4 trillion, amounting to a total debt of N6.4 trillion after December 2025.
“We’re already in March 2026. The debt grew to N6.6 trillion in January and N6.8 trillion in February. At the end of March, you need to add N200 billion again to make it N7 trillion,” she said.
Ogaji added that a significant portion of the outstanding debt is owed to gas suppliers because thermal plants account for the majority of electricity generation on the national grid.
She said: “The generation companies have hydros, and we have thermal power plants. The thermal power plants are the ones that use gas. The hydro plants use water, so they do not owe gas suppliers.
“On the grid, we have 30 power plants. Out of that, about 30 per cent are hydro now because Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Station has added 700 MW, and there are other smaller hydro plants. So, the remaining 70 per cent comes from gas.
“Therefore, for every N100 the thermal plants invoice NBET, N70 belongs to the gas suppliers. So, if we go by that ratio, out of the N6.8tn that I’m quoting, if we take out 70 percent of that money that belongs to thermal plants, we need to work out another 70 percent of that thermal 70 percent and that belongs to gas suppliers.”
Industry estimates, based on this calculation, show that about N3.3 trillion of the total debt is owed to gas producers, whose fuel powers most of Nigeria’s electricity generation.
The GenCo chief warned that the worsening debt crisis is directly responsible for the current electricity shortages.
“Yes, it is 120 per cent correct to say that the debt is the reason why we are in darkness,” she said.
Ogaji added that gas producers are increasingly insisting on payment before supplying fuel to power plants.
“Gas is not available because the gas suppliers have told us that if we need gas, we need to put money on the ground to get gas in the pipe. We owe them a lot of money,” she said.
According to Ogaji, the inability of generation companies to receive payments has also left them struggling to service bank loans obtained during the 2013 power sector privatization.
“We owe gas suppliers, and we also owe lenders. You may have read in the papers that a bank has been threatening to take over Egbin Power Station because of the acquisition loan,” she said.
She also said GenCos’ financial burden had worsened significantly due to the sharp depreciation of the naira since the loans were obtained.
“In 2013, during the privatization, the GenCos took loans from different banks so that they could make a lot of power available to Nigeria. But with this lack of payment, they are not able to pay their loans, and another problem is that they took those loans in dollars in 2013 when the dollar to the naira was N155 to one dollar,” she added.
Consumers in different parts of the country are grumbling as blackouts and load shedding on the national grid continue.
The low supply has affected all parts of the country, with electricity distribution companies announcing load shedding across their franchise areas as a way to ration electricity to communities.
For instance, data on the platform of the Nigerian Independent System Operator showed that Abuja Disco is getting 539 megawatts from the grid, while Ikeja Disco is receiving 533MW and Eko Disco is getting 455MW.
Ibadan Disco is getting 336MW, while Benin Disco is getting 227MW, with Enugu Disco receiving 218MW and Jos Disco getting 159MW.
Kaduna Disco is receiving 178MW, with Kano Disco getting 190MW and Port Harcourt Disco getting 196MW.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), in a recent report, confirmed that only 32 percent of the 13,625 megawatts installed capacity of electricity power plants dispatched electricity in the month of February.
NERC, in the February 2026 Operational Performance Factsheet posted on its X account, said an average of 4,384MW was available for dispatch during the month.
It said the average load factor is 93 percent, showing that 4,102MWh/h of available capacity was utilized. It identified Ihovbor 2, Kainji 1 and Jebba 1 as top energy producers that stood out with strong availability and high utilization levels.
This means that hydro power plants continue to serve as major contributors to the national grid despite the dry season, which usually leads to a drop in water levels in hydro dams.
Last week, some residents of Lagos protested prolonged blackouts amid the scorching heat in the state even in areas that used to have steady electricity. The situation is worsened by the increase in the pump price of petrol, which has made it extremely difficult for residents of the affected communities to power their generators.
From Fadeyi to Mushin and from Igando, Ajegunle, Ijanikin and Badagry, Ikotun, Ikorodu, Agbara and other parts of Ogun State the story remains the same. The situation is even worse in Edo and Delta State, which is host to several power stations in Ughelli, Ozoro and Aboh. In Delta for instance, the entire state is in total blackout as the only presence of light remains solar street lights powered by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in oil producing communities.
Frustrated over what they described as “persistent blackouts,” residents of Fadeyi protested against the “epileptic” electricity supply across the state, maintaining that despite the persistent blackouts, the electricity distribution companies still share outrageous estimated bills to consumers in the area.
Some of them queried the refusal of the DisCos to comply with the Federal Government directives ordering them to give out free meters.
One Mrs. Gbemisola Oyinlola, a mother of three who had been struggling to keep her family comfortable without power, accused the DisCos of alleged connivance with generator sellers as well as owners of petrol stations to fleece them of their hard-earned money.
“It’s been three weeks now, and it’s like living in a different era. We can’t charge our phones, the food in the fridge is getting bad, and the children are getting restless,” she said.
John Ekanem, who owns a photo studio and business café, claimed that at night residents set up makeshift lanterns, while others had invested in generators, filling the air with roaring noise from their engines.
For residents like Oyinlola and Mr. Daramola Adeyemi, the power outage is more than just an inconvenience; it is a disruption to their daily lives, a reminder of the fragility of the infrastructure that underpins their community.
A viral video circulating on social media last week showed a group of protesters, primarily young Nigerians, marching through the Fadeyi area of Lagos. The demonstrators, carrying placards and chanting, expressed their frustration over what they described as a collapse of the power sector that is “killing” local businesses.
Some of the placards bore inscriptions such as: “No more estimated billing,” “No more epileptic power supply,” “No light, no life, no nation,” and “You’re destroying, killing so many businesses; give us regular light.”
“We are not asking for too much,” one protester was heard shouting in the footage. “Make them give us light!”
Similarly, palpable tension is hovering over Obadore, Akesan and Igando communities in Lagos, as residents threatened to stage a protest over a prolonged power outage that has plagued the area for months.
The residents have threatened to stage a 1,000-man march to the head office of Ikeja Electric, the power distribution company responsible for the area.
The residents lamented the hardships caused by the over three-month blackout, which they claimed had disrupted their businesses, compromised their safety, and subjected them to unnecessary hardships.
“We are tired of living in darkness,” said a resident who identified himself as Shakiru Ojo. “We pay our bills regularly, but Ikeja Electric has failed to provide us with the basic service we deserve,” he added.
Speaking at a media briefing held on Tuesday, February 10, 2026 in Lagos, Chairman, Electricity Committee and Vice Chairman of Akesan/Obadore Joint Community Development Association (JCDA), Dr. Adebola Ademeso, stated that they are compelled to communicate their disaffection with IEDC, specifically as “they are being treated as an irrelevant community that must be subjected to perpetual darkness, despite efforts at maintaining a cordial and peaceful mutual relationship.”
“In the event there is supply, it would not last more than 30 minutes or, at most, two hours in a week. At our last engagement meeting, it was agreed that five electric poles would be erected at different locations indicated by our community. But to our dismay, five poles for the month of February have not been erected in the month of March.
“Our ten cardinal resolutions in the form of requests are as follows: we say no to continued payment for darkness. We demand the scrapping of the November and December 2025 bills, while that of January 2026 should be negotiated,” he said.
In Osun State, the Nigerian Youth Congress (Boripe Local Government Chapter) recently condemned the persistent lack of stable electricity, describing the situation as economically damaging and unacceptable.
Similarly, business owners in the Effurun and Uvwie areas of Delta State staged a peaceful protest last week against what they described as ‘exorbitant electricity bills and poor supply, while industry stakeholders have also warned that the situation may worsen if urgent interventions are not implemented.
But in a notice to customers providing an update on power supply disruption, the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IEDC) apologized to customers, saying: “The current situation is due to gas supply constraints affecting the national grid. This has resulted in a significant energy shortfall, necessitating increased load shedding across all our feeders. Please be assured that we are in constant communication with relevant stakeholders as they work to restore normal generation levels.”
Also, the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) said: “We fully understand the inconvenience this situation may be causing and deeply appreciate your patience and continued understanding during this period. Please be assured that all relevant stakeholders are working diligently to resolve the gas supply challenge and restore normal power supply as quickly as possible.”
The power outage is the same in most parts of the country. Barely one week ago, artisans and residents across Kano State told Daily Trust that the persistent blackout is crippling small businesses and worsening living conditions.
Power supply in Kano and parts of the North-West is handled by the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), serving Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states.
Musa Abdullahi, a welder in the Hotoro area of Kano, said he now relies almost entirely on a petrol generator.
“Before this load shedding became worse, we used to have at least eight to 10 hours of electricity daily. Now, we sometimes go two days without power. I spend between N8,000 and N12,000 daily on fuel. That is eating deep into my profit,” he said.
A tailor in Sabon Gari, Aisha Sani, said her earnings had dropped by nearly half in the last two months.
She said since she uses industrial machines that require stable power, she misses deadlines when there is no electricity.
She said she lost at least five big orders recently because she could not deliver on time.
Frozen food and cold-drink sellers are also recording heavy losses. Maryam Ibrahim, who sells frozen chicken and fish at Kurna, said she lost goods worth over N300,000 after a 48-hour outage.
In Yenagoa, artisans say rising fuel costs have forced them to increase service charges, leading to poor patronage.
Stephen Eddie, who runs a barbing salon in Amarata, said he raised his price from N500 to N800 to offset generator expenses.
In Kaduna, business owners say they have adjusted to the reality of unreliable power by adopting alternative energy sources, while residents say even when electricity returns briefly, bills remain high.
Meanwhile, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), while expressing empathy with the frustrations being experienced due to the limited power allocation to its customers, said Nigeria’s power sector is currently facing significant constraints during the dry season (typically November to April).
While also blaming the gas shortage, it said hydropower generation often drops during this season due to low water levels in dams, and many thermal plants experience reduced gas supply from pipeline issues, vandalism and other supply-chain disruptions.
“These factors have led to lower overall generation and reduced allocations from the national grid to all Distribution Companies (DisCos), including AEDC.”
