What I learned from the Senate confirmation hearing of Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Joseph O. Tegbe 

I was privileged to witness the recent Senate confirmation hearing for the minister of power, Joseph O. Tegbe, and it was one of those public hearings that, from the get-go, felt much larger than a mandatory procedure or mere formality. This was not a ceremonial “take a bow and go” session.

Being my first time inside the Senate chamber, the atmosphere carried noticeable weight and seriousness. Many of the senators participating in the hearing openly acknowledged the subject as a “hot topic”, recognising both the depth of public frustration and the reality that Nigeria’s electricity crisis has long evolved into a silent national emergency. The questions were well-prepared and probing; the exchanges were purposeful and intense; and the tone reflected the shared national realisation that Nigeria’s electricity crisis is no longer merely a sector problem — it is now central to the country’s economic future, industrial ambitions, social stability, and global competitiveness.

What struck me most was that beneath the politics and legislative procedures, there is a broad consensus across our nation on several uncomfortable realities bedevilling Nigeria’s electricity supply industry, which continue to suppress economic growth; weaken manufacturing; strain healthcare delivery; destroy national competitiveness and productivity; and diminish quality of life for citizens. Nigerians simply deserve better, and the Senate confirmation exchanges were all about how to make things better. Below are a few lessons I learned anew or was reminded of afresh.

First, the hearing reinforced that Nigeria’s electricity challenge cannot be traced to a single problem and root cause. The weakness runs through generation, transmission, distribution, financing, governance, and execution. The crisis is fundamentally systemic. For years, public discourse has often focused narrowly on generation numbers. Yet one of the clearest themes from the hearing was the clear understanding and acknowledgement by some of our most senior political leaders that the country’s crisis stems from deep structural fragmentation across the entire electricity value chain, leaving huge disconnects between generation, transmission, and distribution.

Nigeria reportedly has roughly 13,000MW of installed, grid-connected generation capacity. Unofficial estimates indicate that up to 40,000MW to 50,000MW is generated and consumed off-grid via self-generated industrial captive power, commercial establishments, and residences. The transmission network evacuation capability is closer to about 7,500 MW, with actual transmission of 5,400 MW and actual distribution-level delivery often below 4,000 MW. In other words, the degraded condition of the infrastructure and fragmentation across the value chain cause massive technical and commercial losses, which are reportedly among the worst in the world compared to peer countries’ national grids.

That fragmentation explains why grid collapses continue to occur despite significant installed capacity on paper. It also reinforces an important lesson: electricity systems are interconnected and integrated ecosystems. Generation without transmission capacity and resilience creates instability. Transmission without adequate distribution capacity and readiness creates bottlenecks and stranded power. And financial weakness and distress across the chain eventually undermines the entire system.

Second, the hearing reinforced the scale of the sector’s financial distress. Discussions around nearly six trillion naira in liquidity shortfalls, GENCOs struggling to pay for gas, DISCOs’ undercollections, and years of underinvestment highlighted the reality that Nigeria’s power crisis is as much a financial and governance challenge as it is a technical one. By some estimates, the federal government has put in over 7.1 trillion naira in recent years on top of hundreds of millions of dollars of additional intervention programmes by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, to mention a few.

This may be one reason Joseph Tegbe’s nomination attracted particular attention and general industry applause for his selection for this enormous responsibility by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Beyond politics, he comes into the role with a pedigree that is well aligned with the sector’s present needs. His background spans engineering, finance, strategy, and large-scale enterprise leadership — a combination that is increasingly necessary in a power sector where technical problems, commercial structures, investor confidence, governance discipline, and public accountability are deeply interconnected.

Throughout the hearing, his responses reflected a systems-oriented mindset rather than a purely technical, political, or single-issue piecemeal approach. Rather than offering sweeping declarations, he repeatedly returned to themes of diagnostics, transparency, operational discipline, measurable performance, institutional coordination, capacity building, localisation, and accountability.

One particularly notable proposal was the commitment to conduct a rapid diagnosis within the first two weeks, followed by the launch of public performance dashboards to establish transparency and measurable baselines. That matters more than it may initially appear. Nigeria’s power sector has never suffered from a shortage of reports, reform plans, consultant studies, or policy declarations. What it has struggled with are execution discipline and sustained accountability. Public dashboards, if implemented credibly, could begin shifting the culture from opaque performance claims toward measurable delivery.

Third, another important takeaway from the hearing was the growing acceptance that decentralisation will likely define how Nigeria’s power system will be structured going forward. In other words, Nigeria can no longer rely entirely on one centralised grid system. The repeated references to the Electricity Act of 2023, state-level participation, mini-grids, and localised generation solutions reflected recognition that the traditional overdependence on a fragile, centralised national grid is increasingly unsustainable. This shift could become transformational if managed properly. Nigeria’s future power system may ultimately look far more distributed: industrial clusters with embedded generation, state-led power initiatives, renewable mini-grids for underserved communities, and regionalised supply systems that reduce pressure on the national grid while expanding resilience and access.

Fourth, the hearing also highlighted the difficult political landmines surrounding tariffs. There was broad recognition that attracting long-term investment into the sector requires more realistic pricing (technically called ‘market-reflective’). At the same time, there was equally strong acknowledgement that ordinary Nigerians – especially lower-income households – must still be able to afford basic electricity for lighting, refrigeration, and everyday living. Ordinary Nigerians must not simply be priced into darkness. That balancing act may ultimately become one of the defining leadership tests for the new minister.

Fifth, and perhaps my biggest takeaway from the hearing was something broader. For the first time in a long while, the discussion felt less like an isolated or theoretical conversation about electricity and more like a national, practical conversation about power infrastructure development itself. Reliable power is not simply about keeping lights on. It underpins industrialisation, manufacturing competitiveness, digital infrastructure, healthcare delivery, educational access, food security, and investor confidence.

In many ways, reliable power is what keeps a modern economy functioning. Without it, factories slow down, businesses become uncompetitive, hospitals struggle, investors hesitate, and everyday life becomes more difficult. The seriousness of the Senate session reflected shared awareness and concern for that reality. It also reflected rising expectations. Nigerians increasingly want measurable outcomes, not just reform narratives. The real significance of the hearing, therefore, may not simply be the confirmation of a new minister of power. It may be that the country is boldly confronting, with greater honesty and urgency, the scale of what rebuilding the power sector will truly require: institutional discipline, coordinated execution, financial realism, decentralised innovation, governance reform, localised capacity, and sustained political will.

The nation’s expectations of Joseph O. Tegbe are enormous. The challenges are undeniably daunting. But the hearing itself suggested something important: Nigeria’s power crisis is being treated with the seriousness and leadership it deserves. May God bless the honourable minister of power, Joseph Tegbe, with all the grace he needs for this national assignment, and may God bless Nigeria.

Dr. Lazarus Angbazo is a leader in Africa’s infrastructure and energy sector in his capacity as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of InfraCorp, Nigeria’s infrastructure investment platform for capital mobilization for infrastructure and industrial capability. Through his involvement with InfraCorp, he is engaged in efforts to unlock private institutional investment into infrastructure and strengthen the long-term sustainability of critical assets. He also serves as Non-Executive Chairman of Emerald Industrial Co., where he brings practical operating insight from supporting power, Oil & Gas, and industrial assets across Nigeria.