Great performance by Mr Joseph Tegbe at the Senate today.
He is stepping into a very big position.
I wish him well pic.twitter.com/NyiE0BP8FH
— OPEOLUWA 😎😎 (@OpeBee) May 6, 2026
President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial nominee, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, has warned that resolving Nigeria’s power crisis will require tough, transparent reforms, stressing that there are no quick fixes.
Speaking during his screening before the Committee of the Whole in the Senate on Wednesday, Tegbe told lawmakers that a new approach is needed to address longstanding challenges in the sector.
“We will not do things the way we used to do before. I will not promise what I cannot deliver,” he said.
Tegbe, who was appointed in 2025 as Director-General of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership, described electricity as the foundation of national confidence, noting that decades of reforms have yet to yield the desired results.
He pledged to prioritise execution over rhetoric, with a focus on improving power distribution, expanding metering, enhancing transparency, and encouraging sub-national participation.
He added that state governments would be supported to generate electricity, easing pressure on the national grid.
During the session, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, raised concerns about grid stability, noting that the system often collapses when supply exceeds 5,000 megawatts. He also warned of resistance from entrenched interests in the sector.
Former Minister of State for Power and Steel, Senator Danjuma Goje, lamented the lack of progress despite significant investments since 1999, and suggested exploring long-term partnerships, including with China, to revitalise the sector.
On security, Senator Tahir Monguno questioned how the nominee would tackle vandalism of power infrastructure.
In response, Tegbe identified gas supply constraints and weak grid discipline as major challenges, stressing the need to stabilise the grid, enforce compliance, and adopt market-driven tariffs.
