APC Says Tinubu’s Electricity Campaign Promise Should Be Viewed In Full Context

The All Progressives Congress, APC Presidential Campaign Council has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s electricity pledge made ahead of the 2023 general elections should not be quoted out of context.

The Council’s spokesman, Dr. Dele Alake, stated this Sunday while reacting to recent public commentary on the President’s campaign promise on power.

Alake said at a meeting with members of the Organised Private Sector in Lagos before the 2023 elections, the then APC candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, outlined plans to address the systemic and institutional challenges that have affected Nigeria’s power sector for over five decades.

He said Tinubu had identified estimated billing as a major burden on households and businesses and promised to resolve it alongside other challenges to ensure stable and reliable electricity supply for Nigerians.

According to Alake, Tinubu had said at the event: “Whichever way, by all means necessary, you will have electricity, and you will not pay for estimated bills anymore. A promise made will be a promise kept. If I don’t keep the promise and I come for a second term, don’t vote for me, unless I give you adequate reasons why I couldn’t deliver.”

He noted that some commentaries had reproduced the pledge without its concluding part, where the President said if he fell short, he would provide Nigerians with adequate explanation before seeking a second term.

Alake said a fair assessment of the pledge should consider the full statement and the administration’s record since 2023, measured by improvements in electricity supply, metering, infrastructure and market stability.

He said while work on fixing the power sector is still ongoing, President Tinubu has remained consistent in delivering on his promise.

According to him, within two weeks of assuming office, President Tinubu signed the Electricity Act, 2023 on June 9, liberalising and deregulating the power sector by removing it from the Exclusive List to allow states to participate in power generation, distribution and transmission.

He said states including Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Kaduna and Niger have already taken advantage of the law by establishing their own electricity regulatory agencies and attracting private capital.

Alake said the President also took on over N6 trillion in legacy debts accumulated from 2015 to 2025 and launched the Presidential Metering Initiative to close the over 7 million metering gap.

He said the administration aligned tariffs to cost to restore liquidity in the electricity market while putting in place measures to protect low-income households, as investments in substations and grid expansion continue.

He added that in the last three years, over 1.5 million customers have been metered under the Presidential Metering Initiative, while the Rural Electrification Agency has connected universities, hospitals and rural communities to solar power.

He said government has also unveiled plans to modernise the over 60-year-old Osogbo Grid Control Centre and build an East-West super grid.

Alake said the administration created a N4 trillion bond programme to settle verified legacy debts owed to 21 power generating companies and gas companies, noting that the first and second tranches have raised over N1.2 trillion.

He said the intervention has repositioned the power sector and reduced market risk for future investments, as evidenced by new investments by generation companies, including Geregu Power Plc which recently announced investments in new Power Transformers to enhance operations at its Geregu 1 Power Plant.

He said President Tinubu inherited several power sector initiatives, including the Presidential Power Initiative started by former President Muhammadu Buhari, and upon assumption of office, reviewed the agreement and signed an Acceleration Agreement in December 2023 to fast-track projects in the transmission network.

Alake said by December 2024, the Federal Executive Council approved the contract for the first batch of five TCN substations in key load centres for upgrade to improve electricity supply to industrial and private consumers, adding that the projects are being completed and will be commissioned before the end of the administration’s first term.

He added that in June 2026, FEC approved the contract for the second batch of projects to build eight new substations and upgrade four existing ones in targeted load centres, noting that power projects require long-lead equipment and cannot be achieved overnight.

Alake said President Tinubu recognised that unlocking the power sector requires resolving commercial challenges, balancing the need for cost-reflective tariffs with affordability for the majority of Nigerians.

He said the administration’s first step was creating Service Bands with different tariffs to improve the financial viability of distribution companies and improve cash flow in the sector, which has also reduced government’s financial burden on tariff subsidies.

He stressed that fixing the electricity market remains ongoing work, adding that President Tinubu has not shifted from his commitment and will present his scorecard in the power sector to Nigerians as he seeks a second term mandate, while also explaining what remains to be done.