Nigeria’s Power Sector Challenge Lies in Governance, Not Technology – Minister Tegbe

Joseph Tegbe, Nigeria’s newly appointed Minister of Power, stated that the most significant obstacle to the country’s electricity sector—spanning transmission, generation, and distribution—is governance.

He made the remark during a speech marking the resumption of his duties on Tuesday.

In an initial meeting with the heads of all agencies under his ministry, Tegbe acknowledged the serious challenges facing Nigeria’s power industry.

He emphasized that while technical problems contribute to these issues, they represent only a small portion; the larger share stems from governance failures.

Tegbe called for coordinated action from every department and agency within the ministry to address the problems plaguing the Nigerian electricity supply industry.

“This sector faces serious challenges. Technical issues account for only a fraction of those challenges. The larger challenge is governance. No agency, no department, no unit can solve this sector’s problems alone,” he said, according to a statement released by Transmission Company of Nigeria spokesperson Ndidi Mbah on Tuesday.