Nigeria's power sector collapses under poor governance, Dino Melaye warns
Former Kogi West senator Dino Melaye has condemned Nigeria's electricity sector, highlighting systemic failures despite 130 years of electricity generation. Melaye stated Nigeria produces only 3,940MW nationally for 220 million people, while South Africa generates 48,000MW for 60 million and Egypt produces 11,000MW for 110 million. He noted Nigeria's installed capacity is 13,000MW but grid output rarely exceeds 4,000-5,000MW due to infrastructure decay. The grid collapsed 12 times in 2024 alone, with 128 transmission towers vandalized that year. Melaye revealed N8.8 billion was spent on repairs, while restarting three key plants (Azura, Delta, Shiroro) after each collapse costs $25 million (N42.5 billion). The power sector now owes N6.8 trillion to generation companies, growing by N200 billion monthly. This instability caused 767 manufacturing companies to shut down in 2023 and 18,000 jobs lost. Manufacturers spent N676.6 billion on backup power in 2025 but still couldn't meet all needs. The World Bank estimates power outages cost Nigeria $29 billion annually (10% of GDP). Melaye called for urgent governance reforms to address these systemic failures.