ADC chief blames Tinubu for failed Nigeria power reforms

Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has publicly rebuked President Bola Tinubu after the president attributed Nigeria’s ongoing power‑sector crisis to policies of previous administrations.

In a statement released on Monday, Eze reminded Tinubu of his pre‑election promise to “fix the country’s failed electricity supply through power‑sector reforms.” Eze said the promise has not been met, noting that “the entire power sector has collapsed, with the national grid crashing at will, and no solution in sight except borrowing.”

Eze criticized Tinwala’s recent comments that blamed “flawed privatisation” carried out by past governments for the country’s electricity shortages. He argued that the president’s “failure, ineptitude, corruption and foreign borrowing” are the real causes of the persisting blackouts, and that blaming former leaders is “an excuse in futility.”

The ADC chief also warned that the current situation places electricity workers and their assets at risk, as public frustration grows over the lack of progress despite “budgetary allocations in the last three years… running into billions of naira.”

Tinubu previously claimed that structural weaknesses embedded in the privatisation process have hindered power‑sector reforms for years. Eze dismissed the claim, stating that Tinubu had promised to solve the problem, not to deflect responsibility onto predecessors. He recalled that the president’s 2023 campaign pledge warned voters that a failure to improve electricity supply would merit a loss of support.

“Now it is crystal clear that Tinubu has failed woefully on his promise, and therefore has no single excuse to give,” Eze said, urging Nigerians to consider the president’s own words and vote him out in the next election.

Eze also accused Tinubu of targeting individuals involved in the unbundling of the power‑generation monopoly, describing such tactics as “falsehoods” intended to shift blame. He concluded that Tinubu’s reforms have resulted in “corruption, darkness and loss of jobs for electricity workers,” and called on the president to resign, stating that “no amount of blackmail and propaganda will save Tinubu from being voted out by hungry and angry Nigerians.”

The exchange highlights continuing political tension over Nigeria’s energy crisis, a sector that accounts for a significant share of the nation’s economic challenges. Observers note that the power‑sector reforms initiated after the 2013 unbundling have struggled to deliver reliable electricity, and both the current administration and opposition parties face mounting pressure to present viable solutions before the forthcoming electoral cycle.