Amid growing public anger over persistent blackouts, Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has publicly apologised to Nigerians, admitting that the current electricity crisis has intensified hardship across the country.
The minister made the admission on Tuesday during a press briefing in Abuja, where he addressed the worsening outages that have disrupted economic activities and strained households during the peak of the dry season.
Offering a candid acknowledgement of the situation, Adelabu said, “I want to apologise to Nigerians, officially now… for this temporary issue that is leading to hardship being experienced, especially during this dry season, where there is so much heat everywhere.”
He stressed that the impact of the outages has been far-reaching, “Businesses are being affected, schools have been affected, and industries have been affected. It is not our wish to find ourselves in this situation.”
The minister attributed the crisis largely to constraints in gas supply to power plants—an issue linked to pipeline maintenance and longstanding financial challenges within the sector. He noted that ongoing repair works, particularly those connected to operations by Seplat Energy, are expected to improve supply in the coming days.
In a bid to reassure Nigerians, Adelabu gave a clear timeline for recovery, “Two weeks from now, we should start seeing improvements in supply.”
He also revealed that the Federal Government has set up a monitoring committee to enforce compliance among gas producers in meeting domestic supply obligations, a key factor affecting electricity generation.
Reiterating government commitment, the minister said efforts are ongoing to stabilise the sector and surpass previous gains, “We are working on it 24/7 to make sure that we go back to the trajectory of 2025… we are willing to do more, to even do better.”
Adelabu further maintained that Nigeria remains on track to achieve a 6,000 megawatt power generation target before the end of 2026, describing the current outages as a temporary setback in a broader reform plan.
Nigeria’s power sector has long battled systemic issues, including gas shortages, weak infrastructure, and funding gaps—challenges that continue to undermine reliable electricity supply despite repeated reforms.
