Presidency Blasts Obi: Nigeria already has the 10,000MW you’re promising

The Presidency has hit back at Peter Obi over his pledge to raise Nigeria’s electricity generation and distribution capacity by at least 10,000 megawatts within four years, accusing the former Anambra State governor of misunderstanding the real crisis in the power sector.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, said Obi’s promise exposed what he described as ignorance of Nigeria’s existing electricity infrastructure.

Speaking on Arise Television on Tuesday, Onanuga said Nigeria already has an installed power generation capacity of about 13,500 megawatts, far above the figure Obi promised to deliver if elected president in 2027.

According to him, the country’s problem is not the absence of generation capacity but the inability to fully utilise what already exists because of gas shortages, huge legacy debts, weak transmission infrastructure and an ageing national grid.

“What people don’t know, and which unfortunately Peter Obi did not know, when he came and said he’s going to generate 10,000 megawatts, we already have in Nigeria stored capacity of 13,500 megawatts,” Onanuga said.

He said the power sector has been weighed down for years by unresolved debts owed to gas suppliers, adding that the Tinubu administration inherited a sector struggling under the burden of more than N4 trillion in legacy obligations.

“What are the problems? No gas. The players in the sector are owing the gas companies legacy debt over N4 trillion, which has become the problem of this administration, and it’s trying to clear it,” he stated.

Onanuga said Tinubu moved quickly after assuming office to confront the power crisis, beginning with the signing of the Electricity Act, which opened the sector further to state participation.

“To show that he meant business, the first thing he did when he came to office, he signed the Electricity Act, which enables states to generate power, to transmit power, to distribute power,” he said.

He added that some states have already started taking advantage of the new law, while more are expected to enter the sector as the reforms deepen.

“And some of the states are taking advantage of that, more are going to do so. That will make the electricity sector open, more competitive,” Onanuga said.

The presidential aide also claimed that power generation has improved under Tinubu compared to the level the administration inherited in May 2023.

“Power generation has increased. We are not at the level that the president met it,” he said.

Onanuga, however, admitted that Nigeria’s transmission grid remains a major obstacle to stable electricity supply.

“The grid is outdated,” he said, noting that the Federal Government has begun reforms aimed at modernising critical assets in the sector.

He said the administration’s proposed Grid Asset Management Company Limited, GAMCO, is part of efforts to improve the performance and efficiency of key electricity infrastructure, including some hydropower assets.

“You know I said we have 13,500 megawatts installed; some of them are not really functioning,” Onanuga explained.

His comments followed Obi’s promise to add at least 10,000 megawatts to Nigeria’s generation and distribution capacity within four years if elected president in the 2027 general election.