The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who increased electricity tariffs which he categorised into different bands without commensurate improvement in generation and transmission is set to exit the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Adelabu will be leaving the cabinet without fulfilling his widely publicized promise and target of boosting electricity supply to 6,000 megawatts.
It was gathered that the Oyo State born politician has his eyes on the governorship seat of his state thus expected to comply with the directive by President Tinubu asking all political appointees with interest in contesting the 2027 general elections to resign from office on or before March 31, 2027.
The affected appointees included; ministers, heads of agencies and parastatals, Special Advisers and Assistants amongst others.
The presidential directive is in line with the provisions of the 2026 Electoral Act that mandates public office holders seeking elective positions to vacate their offices before the commencement of political campaigns.
Adelabu has already publicly declared his intention to run for the governorship of Oyo State, and with the deadline fast approaching, sources within the Federal Ministry of Power indicated that his exit is imminent.
A senior official in the ministry of power said that the minister has told some of his close aides to start preparing handover notes ahead of his exit from the cabinet to enable him focus on his political ambition.
According to the official; “It is clear that the minister’s focus is more on the Oyo governorship race in 2027 as more attention is paid to the gubernatorial ambition than the activities of the ministry.
“The ministry needs someone with dedicated focus and attention particularly now that the issues affecting power supply requires full attention in order to address persistent challenges facing electricity in the country.
Adelabu on assumption of office as minister of Power in 2023, assured Nigerians of his determination to raise electricity generation to 6,000MW, but became overwhelmed and overshadowed by ongoing struggles in Nigeria’s power sector.
A recent data indicated that power distribution under the watch of Adelabu reduced drastically from the national grid which hovered around 3,331MW, a development that is far below the target set by the administration in spite of the huge allocation of funds pumped into the sector.
As a result of the less than average supply from the national grid which collapsed more than four times in 2026 alone, households and businesses continue to experience unstable electricity supply and frequent blackouts, a development that rubbished the categorisation of supply of electricity into bands without meeting the required hours of supply.
Expectedly, stakeholders in the industry attributed the situation to a combination of factors, including inadequate gas supply, ageing infrastructure, and mounting financial liabilities within the sector.
This was as power generation companies have also raised concerns over a backlog of debts estimated at over ₦6.8 trillion, which has seriously affected operations and forced the shutdown of several gas-fired plants which impacted seriously on generation capacity that struggles and fluctuates between 2,000MW and 3,900MW in recent months.
Adelabu missed his 2025 benchmark for improving power supply, and his imminent exit now leaves the 6,000MW target unaccomplished as he is leaving behind a deeply troubled sector requiring serious reforms, significant investment, and effective policy direction.
