Tegbe: A Square Peg In A Round Hole?, By Kazeem Akintunde
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday last week, named Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe as his new Power Minister. He also forwarded his name to the Senate for approval and confirmation. Tegbe came into the picture after Adebayo Adelabu resigned from Tinubu’s cabinet to contest for the Oyo State Governorship seat. Adelabu, after more than two years as Power Minister, will be known in our history books as a monumental failure in that role. He could neither generate nor distribute power to over 200 million Nigerians. Despite that, he is interested in becoming a Governor! In the first instance, he had no business being appointed to the Power Ministry. A first-class graduate in Accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Adelabu would have been more suited for the Finance Ministry or the Budget department. Now that he is out of the picture, whether the people of Oyo State, who are also impacted negatively by the darkness that the incompetent Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), dishes out to them would trust him enough to vote him as their next Governor remains to be seen. However, we will not forget that he came to the Power Ministry and left it in a worse state than he met it.
The question now begging an answer is if his successor, Tegbe, the right choice for the office? Tegbe’s appointment comes at a critical juncture for Africa’s most populous economy, where persistent electricity shortages continue to weigh on growth, industrial output, and investor confidence. Nigeria, despite an installed capacity of more than 12,000 megawatts, struggles to deliver a fraction of that to homes and businesses due to transmission constraints, gas supply issues, and chronic liquidity problems across the value chain. Frequent grid collapses and tariff disputes have compounded the sector’s fragility, leaving successive administrations grappling with reforms that have yielded limited results. Tegbe, 60, enters the role with more than three decades of experience spanning consulting, fiscal policy, and institutional reform. A former senior partner at KPMG, he led advisory services across Africa, working on governance, regulatory frameworks, and large-scale transformation projects. His career has also included engagements with key institutions in Nigeria’s power sector, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company.
Until his appointment, he had served as Director-general of the Nigeria – China Strategic Partnership, where he coordinated development cooperation initiatives and investment engagements between Abuja and Beijing. He also Chairs Nigeria’s tax implementation committee, underscoring his role in shaping broader economic policy. Educated at the University of Ife, where he graduated with a first-class degree in Civil Engineering, Tegbe later attended executive programmes at institutions including Harvard Kennedy School, and the European Union of Business Administration, (INSEAD). His profile fits a pattern under Tinubu’s administration of appointing technocrats to key positions. Yet, the scale of the challenge ahead may test even the most seasoned reformer. So, is he a round peg in a round hole?
After his Civil Engineering degree at Ife, Tegbe was more at home with the Accounting profession. He became a Chartered Accountant, an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, INSEAD, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Business School. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (FCIT), and Certified in Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT).
From his profile, it is obvious that Tegbe has little or limited knowledge of the power sector and may need more than six months to have a grasp of it. This is where the problem lies. Since the return to democratic dispensation in 1999, Nigeria has had 11 Ministers of Power. Many of them, going by their university qualifications, should not have been appointed to head the Ministry, as they have little or no Engineering background. They are neither Electrical nor Mechanical Engineers.
The late Bola Ige was in charge of the Ministry between 1999 and 2000. He was a known lawyer and politician who had no knowledge of the sector he was heading. He could not make any significant improvement in electricity generation and was later moved to the Justice Ministry.
Olusegun Agagu, who took over from him, was admitted to study Botany at the University of Ibadan, but he later changed to Geology, in which he graduated in 1971. Agagu went to the University of Texas between 1973 and 1974 for his Master’s degree in Geology, returning to Nigeria, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Petroleum Geology from the University of Ibadan.
Aliyu Modibbo Umar, who later headed the Ministry obtained a BA degree in Journalism from California State University, Long Beach, an MA in African Studies, and a PhD in Comparative Education from the University of California. Next came Liyel Imoke. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Economic at the University of Maryland in the United States in 1982. He then studied Law at the University of Buckingham, England, gaining an LLB degree in 1985, as well as a Master’s degree in Law, before attending the Nigerian Law School in 1988. I do not see a connection to the Engineering field to warrant his appointment to the Power Ministry.
Rilwan Lanre Babalola, who took over from Imoke, earned a Doctorate degree in Energy Economics from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, providing him with specialised knowledge in resource allocation and economic aspects of energy systems pertinent to infrastructure development. He entered Nigeria’s power sector through the Bureau of Public Entreprises (BPE), where he served as Deputy director and team leader for the Power Sector Reform Programme prior to 2008. Following his tenure at the BPE, Babalola briefly joined the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) as Deputy General Manager for Tariff. He has had extensive knowledge of the power sector and it was no surprise that President Tinubu now has him serving as his Special Adviser on Power and also as Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power Sector Reset and Restoration.
President Tinubu has also redesignated the Office of the Special Adviser (Energy) as the Special Adviser (Oil & Gas) to clarify roles and avoid duplication of functions within the energy governance framework.
Professor Bart Nnaji, who took over from Babalola, earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics at St John’s University in New York, USA. He then proceeded to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for his Masters and PhD in Engineering. He also obtained a Post Doctorate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nnaji founded Geometric Power Limited, Nigeria’s first indigenous-owned power development company in 2000. In 2010, he served as Special Adviser to the President on Power, and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power. He was Nigeria’s Minister of Power in 2011, and resigned in August 2012.
Osita Nebo had a degree in Mining Engineering, a Masters Degree in Metallurgical Engineering, and a Doctoral degree in Materials Engineering and Science, all at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. He was our Power Minister between 2013 and 2015.
Babatunde Raji Fashola was made a Super Minister in 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari, heading the Ministries of Power, Works, and Housing. Despite being known as a lawyer and Senior Advocate with a degree in Law, he could not achieve much, necessitating the Power Ministry to be taken from him and handed to Saleh Mamman, who was appointed to head the Ministry in 2019. Saleh holds a Higher National Diploma in Electrical Electronics from Kaduna Polytechnic and an MBA in Business Administration from Bayero University. Abubakar Aliyu, who was Power Minister between 2021 and 2023, obtained an HND in Highway and Transportation Engineering from Kaduna Polytechnic and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil and Water Resources Engineering from the University of Maiduguri.
It is quite clear from the profiles of those that have been appointed to head the power ministry since 1999 that many of them had no business in that all-important Ministry. It is therefore not a surprise that we have been able to generate around 12,000 megawatts of power for a population of more than 200 million people, while only 4,000 megawatts is available for homes and offices across the country. In spite of government spending huge resources in ensuring that we get electricity, nothing seems to be working, no thanks to a well-established cabal as well as the lack of requisite qualifications by those in charge of the sector. Nigerians have been kept perpetually in darkness, so much so, that even the Presidency has installed solar panels as alternative power source in the Presidential Villa.
Nigeria’s power sector is one that is riddled with chronic systemic challenges characterized by inadequate generation, weak transmission infrastructure, and poor distribution capacity, leading to frequent grid collapses and unreliable supply. Major issues that would confront the new Minister, Tegbe, include gas supply shortages, high technical/commercial losses, massive market debts, and insufficient investment. The national grid is fragile, often unable to transport generated power to end users, and experiences frequent total or partial collapses. With generation hovering around 12,000 megawatts of installed capacity, actual generation often drops below 5,000 due to gas supply shortages, pipeline vandalism, and aging infrastructure at thermal stations. Distribution companies also suffer from massive financial losses, including high technical, commercial, and collection inefficiencies. Many consumers are not metered, leading to estimated billing disputes. Constant vandalism of gas pipelines and electricity infrastructure also significantly restricts power supply.
Yet, without electricity, there cannot be any meaningful development. In appointing Tegbe, President Tinubu seems to be aware of his limited knowledge of the sector and has now complimented that by bringing back Lanre Babalola on board. Babalola, a former Minister for Power, brings deep sectoral expertise and a proven understanding of the structural and operational challenges within the electricity value chain.
If the duo can work together to encourage state Governors to take charge of the power sector for their people, the sector’s deregulation will usher in better days for Nigerians. Despite being deregulated, many state Governors are shying away from taken this all-important step. The truth is that we can no longer rely on a single aging power grid to serve over 200 million Nigerians. Although it is a technical sector that may be beyond the understanding of most State Governors, the way to go is to have the political will and expertise from within and outside the shores of the country.
In the 21th century, when many smaller African countries are enjoying stable power supply, we should be bold enough to tell ourselves the truth that what is presently obtainable in Nigeria is a huge national embarrassment that should shame all of us. I have spent four days in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, with major parts in total darkness. IBEDC has been tagged as the most useless DISCO in the country, and they continue to wear their emblem of shame with pride.
I hope and pray that Tegbe and Babalola would be able to turn the sordid state of our power sector around within a short period of time.
See you next week.
