The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign
council says the electricity pledge made by President Bola Tinubu ahead of the
2023 elections was quoted out of context.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Dele Alake, spokesperson of
the campaign council, said Tinubu made the pledge during a meeting with the
organised private sector (OPS) in Lagos ahead of the election.
Alake said Tinubu, who was then the APC presidential
candidate, spoke about how he would tackle the systemic and institutional
problems that had bedevilled Nigeria’s power sector for more than five decades.
He said Tinubu specifically identified estimated billing as
a major burden on households and businesses.
According to him, Tinubu promised to address the problem,
alongside other challenges in the power sector, to ensure Nigerians have a
stable and reliable electricity supply.
Alake quoted the president as saying: “Whichever way, by all
means necessary, you will have electricity, and you will not pay for estimated
bills anymore. A promise made will be a promise kept.
“If I don’t keep the promise and I come for a second term,
don’t vote for me, unless I give you adequate reasons why I couldn’t deliver.”
He, however, said some recent public commentaries had
reproduced the campaign promise without its concluding qualification that
Tinubu would owe Nigerians an adequate explanation if he failed to deliver
before seeking re-election.
The APC campaign council spokesperson argued that a fair
assessment of the promise should consider the full statement alongside the
administration’s record since 2023.
He said the record should be assessed against measurable
improvements in electricity supply, metering, infrastructure and market
stability.
Alake acknowledged that resolving the power sector crisis
remained a work in progress but said the president was working consistently to
fulfil his promise to Nigerians.
Listing some of the administration’s interventions in the
power sector, Alake said Tinubu signed the Electricity Act, 2023, on June 9,
less than two weeks after assuming office, liberalising and deregulating the
sector.
He said several states, including Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Ekiti,
Oyo, Kaduna and Niger, had taken advantage of the law to establish their own
electricity regulatory agencies and attract private investment.
“President Tinubu took on the over N6 trillion legacy debt
that had accumulated from 2015 to 2025. He started a Presidential Metering
Initiative to close the over 7 million metering gap,” he said.
“In the last three years, over 1.5 million customers have
been metered under the Presidential Metering Initiative.”
Alake said the government had also unveiled plans to
modernise the Osogbo Grid Control Centre, which was built over 60 years ago,
and construct an east-west super grid.
He said the administration established a N4 trillion bond
programme to settle verified legacy debts owed to 21 power generating companies
(Gencos) and gas companies (Gascos).
According to him, the first and second tranches of the
programme had raised over N1.2 trillion to settle part of the verified debt.
Alake maintained that Tinubu had repositioned the power
sector and reduced market risks for future investment, adding that the impact
was becoming evident in Gencos’ investments to upgrade their power plants.
He said the president had not deviated from his commitment
and would present his scorecard in the power sector as he seeks a second term,
explaining to Nigerians what remained to be done.
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