President Bola Tinubu has defended his 2023 campaign promise to end estimated electricity billing and ensure stable power supply, insisting that his administration remains committed to fulfilling the pledge as it seeks a second term in office.
The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, in a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesperson, Dele Alake, said the President’s electricity promise should be assessed in its full context, including his qualification that he would provide Nigerians with adequate reasons if he failed to deliver before seeking re-election.
Tinubu had, during a meeting with members of the Organised Private Sector in Lagos ahead of the 2023 general elections, promised to tackle the country’s longstanding electricity challenges.
He had declared: “Whichever way, by all means necessary, you will have electricity, and you will not pay for estimated bills anymore.”
He also challenged Nigerians not to re-elect him if he failed to fulfil the promise, unless he provided adequate explanations for his inability to do so.
Alake argued that some recent commentaries had quoted the pledge without its concluding qualification, adding that a fair assessment should also consider the administration’s record in the power sector since assuming office in 2023.
He cited the signing of the Electricity Act, 2023, on June 9, barely two weeks after Tinubu took office, as one of the administration’s major interventions.
According to him, the law liberalised the electricity market by allowing state governments to establish regulatory agencies and participate in electricity generation, transmission and distribution.
He listed Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Kaduna and Niger among states that had taken advantage of the legislation to establish their electricity regulatory frameworks and attract private investment.
The APC campaign spokesperson also said the administration had inherited more than N6tn in legacy debts accumulated between 2015 and 2025 and introduced a N4tn bond programme to settle verified obligations owed to power generation and gas companies.
He disclosed that the first two tranches of the programme had raised more than N1.2tn to offset part of the verified debts owed to 21 generating and gas companies.
On electricity metering, Alake said the Presidential Metering Initiative had facilitated the installation of meters for more than 1.5 million customers in the last three years, as the government works to address an estimated seven million-meter gap.
He added that the administration had introduced service-based electricity tariffs to improve the financial viability of distribution companies, while maintaining protections for low-income consumers.
The government, he said, was also investing in substations and grid expansion, alongside plans to modernise the Osogbo Grid Control Centre, which was built more than 60 years ago, and develop an East-West super grid.
Alake further highlighted the administration’s efforts to accelerate the Presidential Power Initiative, inherited from the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said Tinubu reviewed the existing agreement and signed an acceleration agreement with German partners in December 2023 to fast-track projects aimed at strengthening the national transmission network.
He disclosed that the Federal Executive Council approved the first batch of five Transmission Company of Nigeria substations for upgrading in December 2024, while another batch involving the construction of eight new substations and the upgrading of four existing ones was approved in June 2026.
The spokesperson also cited the Rural Electrification Agency’s solar power projects connecting universities, hospitals and rural communities as part of the administration’s interventions.
He maintained that the reforms were beginning to encourage fresh investments in the sector, pointing to Geregu Power Plc’s recent announcement of investments in new transformers for its Geregu 1 Power Plant.
Acknowledging that the electricity crisis remained unresolved, Alake said rebuilding the sector required substantial investment, infrastructure upgrades and measures to balance commercial viability with affordable electricity.
“Fixing the electricity market and power sector is ongoing work,” he said.
He insisted that Tinubu had remained committed to his campaign promise and would present his electricity sector scorecard, including outstanding challenges, to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 general election.