There is growing public frustration over Nigeria’s persistent electricity challenges which has triggered fresh outrage.

In a statement on Sunday, Adeniran Taiwo Olugbenga, Convener of Arise O’ Compatriot Initiative, said the country’s power sector continues to underperform despite decades of reforms and huge financial investments.

This has led civil society groups and concerned citizens to call for urgent reforms and nationwide protests over what they describe as a deeply broken power system.

According to the group, “Nigeria can no longer afford polite language about its power sector,” describing the situation as “a stubborn, recurring failure that has been normalized for far too long.”

The group noted that from the era of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) to the current structure, the pattern of poor electricity supply has remained unchanged.

It cited “unstable supply, repeated grid collapses, delayed infrastructure, and a system that consistently fails to deliver,” stressing that these challenges are now “systemic outcomes” rather than isolated incidents.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) was singled out as a major weak link in the electricity value chain.

The statement described the agency as “the backbone of the electricity value chain,” warning that “when transmission fails, everything fails.”

According to the group, the country continues to experience stranded power, weak grid stability, and operational inefficiencies, with national grid collapses becoming increasingly frequent.

It also expressed concern over delayed donor-funded projects and what they termed a lack of proactive maintenance and transparency.

Citing recent regulatory data, the stakeholders revealed that transmission losses had risen to nearly 10 percent, costing the country between ₦5 billion and ₦8 billion monthly.

While recent interventions have led to some improvement, the group questioned why such measures were not implemented earlier, asking pointedly: “If improvement was possible, why was it not done earlier?”

The reappointment of Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz as Managing Director of TCN also drew sharp criticism.

The group argued that the decision reflected continuity rather than reform, stating emphatically that “this appointment amounted to the institutionalisation of failure.”

They described Abdulaziz as “a product of the system,” noting his long career spanning NEPA, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), and now TCN.

According to the statement, “a man who has passed through these phases does not represent transformation. He represents continuity of a system whose defining output has been persistent failure.”

The group further questioned recent endorsements of the reappointment by some associations, warning of a disconnect between performance and public praise.

Linking the issue to the broader economic agenda of President Bola Tinubu, the stakeholders warned that reforms could be undermined without a functional power sector.

“No reform can succeed in a weak power sector. Nigerians will judge outcomes, not explanations,” the statement said.

Describing the situation as both structural and moral, the group cautioned that “when failure is rewarded and consequences are absent, failure becomes structural—and when it becomes structural, it becomes dangerous.”

Following a convergence of stakeholders held on April 10, the coalition announced plans to take action.

“Silence is no longer an option,” the statement declared, confirming that a nationwide peaceful protest will commence on April 16th 2025, to demand “a holistic overhaul of leadership and accountability within the power sector, starting with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).”

“The choice is clear; continue managing failure, or confront it—because at this point, darkness is no longer just a condition, but a consequence of decisions,” the statement added. (The Nation)

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