By Omeiza Ajayi & Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA—The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, APC-PCC, and African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council, ADC-PCC, were yesterday locked in a verbal war over President Bola Tinubu’s declaration during his campaign in 2023 that if he failed to give Nigerians power, they should not re-elect him in 2027.
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While APC-PCC said the President’s fixing of the country’s electricity sector was ongoing and had signed the Electricity Act 2023 to enable states generate, distribute and transmit power, ADC-PCC insisted Nigerians could not power their homes and businesses with laws, bonds and project announcements.
In a statement yesterday, the spokesperson of APC-PCC, Dele Alake, said recent public commentary had reproduced the campaign promise without its closing qualification.
Speaking to members of the Organised Private Sector, OPS, in Lagos, ahead of the 2023 general elections, Tinubu, then the APC candidate, had reportedly said: “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 I couldn’t deliver.”
Alake said the commentary left out the final part, that “should he fall short, he would owe Nigerians an adequate explanation before seeking their support for a second term.”
He argued that a fair assessment of the pledge should consider the full statement, alongside the administration’s record since 2023, measured against measurable improvements in electricity supply, metering, infrastructure and market stability.
“While fixing the power sector crisis remains unfinished, the President is working consistently to deliver on his promise to Nigerians, and his commitment to face the challenges head-on has never diminished,” the council said.
The APC-PCC said Tinubu signed the Electricity Act, 2023, on June 9, within two weeks of taking office.
According to the council, the law liberalised and deregulated the power sector and moved it away from the Exclusive List, so states can take part in power generation, distribution and transmission.
It said Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Kaduna and Niger states had started using the law to set up their own electricity regulatory agencies and attract private capital.
On debts, the campaign council said Tinubu “took on the over N6 trillion legacy debt that had accumulated from 2015 to 2025,” adding that the administration created a N4 trillion bond programme to settle verified legacy debts owed 21 power generation companies, Gencos, and gas companies, Gascos.
The council said the first and second tranches of the programme had raised over N1.2 trillion, and noted that the effect was becoming evident in the ability of Gencos to invest in upgrading their plants.
“Just a few days ago, Geregu Power Plc announced investments in new power transformers to enhance operations at the Geregu 1 Power Plant. Other firms are making similar investments,” it said.
On metering, the council said Tinubu started a Presidential Metering Initiative to close a gap of over seven million meters, noting that well over 1.5 million customers had been metered under the initiative in the last three years.
The APC-PCC added that the Rural Electrification Agency had connected universities, hospitals and rural communities to solar power.
It said the government had also unveiled plans to modernise the Osogbo Grid Control Centre, which it said was built over 60 years ago, with plans to build an East-West super grid.
On transmission, the council said Tinubu reviewed the Presidential Power Initiative, PPI, which was started by the late President Muhammadu Buhari, and signed an Acceleration Agreement in December 2023 with the German partners.
It said the Federal Executive Council, FEC, approved the contract for the first batch of five Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, substations in key load centres by December 2024.
These projects, it said, “are now being completed and will be commissioned before the end of the administration’s first term.”
In June 2026, the council added, FEC approved the contract for a second batch, covering eight new substations and the upgrade of four existing ones.
“Power project implementation requires equipment that is a long-lead item and thus cannot be achieved overnight,” the council said.
… on tariffs
On tariffs, APC-PCC said Tinubu “significantly aligned the tariffs to cost to restore liquidity to the electricity market” and put in place a system to protect low-income households.
‘’The creation of service bands with different tariffs was a first step to improve the financial viability of distribution companies and cash flow in the sector. It also reduced the government’s financial burden from tariff subsidies.’’
ADC-PCC says bonds can’t light homes, slams APC over Tinubu’s power pledge
Replying the APC, African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council, ADC-PCC, in a statement by the Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, accused the APC campaign council of celebrating policy documents and financial interventions instead of addressing the failure to translate them into reliable electricity.
“The APC should spare Nigerians the spectacle of celebrating paperwork while homes and businesses remain in darkness. After three and a half years, families still struggle to keep their homes lit. Traders and small business owners spend scarce resources on alternative power, yet struggle to keep their businesses alive.
‘’Nigerians are billed for electricity they cannot rely on. President Tinubu promised steady power and an end to estimated billing. That promise has not been kept,” he said.
It also faulted the electricity band system, arguing that consumers were paying different tariffs without corresponding improvements in supply.”
ADC campaign council cited Band A tariffs of about N209.50 per unit in many areas, before VAT, to illustrate the burden on consumers, insisting that Nigerians across all five bands continued to pay for electricity they could not reliably access.
“No family should have to weigh the cost of electricity against the cost of food. No business should be left to pay more while receiving less,” the council said.
Electricity subsidies
It also demanded clarity on the federal government’s plan to end electricity subsidies from 2027, questioning what the move would mean for household and business electricity bills.
The council proposed working with state governments and regulators to abolish the existing band system and introduce what he described as a fairer, more affordable framework that would hold power companies accountable for electricity delivered.
ADC-PCC lampooned the administration’s multitrillion-naira bond programme to settle legacy debts owed generation companies which, he said, could not be mistaken for investment in new electricity generation infrastructure.
It alleged that the Tinubu administration had not built any new generation infrastructure of its own to expand Nigeria’s power capacity.
“Paying old debts is not the same as building new power infrastructure. Bonds cannot be presented as a substitute for power in people’s homes,” he said.
He also raised concerns over VAT on electricity and the five per cent surcharge provided for certain fossil fuels, including petrol and diesel, under the Nigeria Tax Act.
