President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed the former Minister of Power, Mr. Rilwan Lanre Babalola, as his Special Adviser on Power.
In a significant change meant to tackle the ongoing financial and grid issues affecting the sector, the President also designated Babalola as the Chairman of the newly created Presidential Task Force on Power Sector Reset and Restoration.
This appointment comes at a crucial moment for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). Even with recent changes made under the Electricity Act, the sector still faces challenges like gas supply shortages and a decrease in available power generation capacity, which dropped to around 4,384 MW earlier this quarter.
In a statement from the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, it was highlighted that the new Taskforce will function as a high-level team focused on delivering results.
Its main goal is to bring back commercial viability and maintain order in the grid, a step that industry experts view as necessary due to the frequent system failures that have slowed industrial growth over the past year.
The Taskforce has been given a tough 11-point mission. This includes creating a Performance Before Expansion system, improving tariff honesty and ensuring revenue, developing Electricity Growth Zones to encourage effective power use, and providing a detailed 90-day plan for quick recovery in the sector.
To reduce confusion in administration, President Tinubu has renamed the current Office of the Special Adviser (Energy). It will now be called the Special Adviser (Oil & Gas).
This change aims to make roles clearer within energy management. It allows for more focus on the oil sector while Babalola leads efforts to restore power.
Mr. Babalola knows well the challenges of Nigeria’s electricity problems. He holds a Ph.D. in Energy Economics and was the Minister of Power from 2008 to 2010. He is recognized for leading the first Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) team at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), which helped set up the separation of the old PHCN.
“The President expects Mr. Babalola to act quickly and focus strongly on this task,” said the statement, adding that the aim is to achieve measurable improvements in power supply as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
