The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has apologised to Nigerians over the persistent power outages across the country, admitting that the situation has worsened hardship for homes, businesses and industries.
Adelabu tendered the apology on Tuesday during a press conference in Abuja, where he acknowledged the severity of the blackout, especially amid the intense dry-season heat currently affecting many parts of the country.
“I want to apologise to Nigerians, officially now, coming from me as the Minister of Power, for this temporary issue that is leading to hardship being experienced,” he said. “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 explained that the outages were largely due to factors beyond the immediate control of the government, particularly disruptions in gas supply to power plants. Nigeria’s electricity generation is heavily dependent on gas-fired facilities, making the sector vulnerable to pipeline faults and supply constraints.
Despite the ongoing challenges, Adelabu assured Nigerians that efforts were already in motion to stabilise the system, expressing optimism that noticeable improvements would be recorded soon.
“I can tell you that with the committee that we have set up, and commitments from gas suppliers, as well as the timeline for repair of the gas pipelines, two weeks from now, we should start seeing improvements in supply,” he stated.
He further disclosed that the government had constituted a special committee to monitor compliance with domestic gas supply obligations by producing companies, a move aimed at ensuring steady fuel availability for power generation.
According to him, there is also renewed attention on improving payment structures within the sector to encourage gas suppliers to meet their commitments.
Adelabu noted that key repairs, including those involving facilities linked to Seplat Energy, were progressing and expected to restore adequate gas flow to power plants.
While describing the current situation as a temporary setback, the minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s broader target of increasing electricity generation to 6,000 megawatts before the end of 2026.
“We are working round the clock to return to the trajectory we achieved in 2025,” he said. “Power generation will improve, transmission will improve, distribution will improve, and Nigerians will be better for it.”
