Nigerians Challenge Power Minister Tegbe Over Electricity Restoration in Five States
- Residents in Lagos and four other locations say outages have worsened, with some households getting barely an hour of electricity daily
- Power Minister Joseph Tegbe says repairs restored supply to many areas, but acknowledges some communities still lack adequate electricity
- Gas shortages, vandalism and maintenance have worsened outages, while repairs to a transmission line could add 400MW for Lagos
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Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
Nigerians in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kwara and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed frustration over persistent electricity outages, disputing the Federal Government’s announcement that power supply has been restored to several affected communities.
Residents who spoke with Legit.ng said electricity supply had deteriorated over the past two weeks, with some households receiving barely one hour of power daily despite paying higher tariffs.
Source: UGC
Their complaints followed an announcement by the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, on Monday, November 9, 2026, that electricity had been restored to several areas following repairs to critical transmission infrastructure.
Lagos residents lament worsening electricity supply
Jonathan Amos, a resident of Magodo, Lagos, said electricity supply had remained unreliable despite his neighbourhood being classified under Band A, where customers are expected to receive at least 20 hours of electricity daily.
"In the last two weeks, we have never had electricity for three to five hours straight, and we are on Band A," Amos told Legit.ng.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene, calling for the minister's removal over the prolonged outages.
Another resident, Cynthia Ijeh, said the electricity crisis had severely affected her frozen food business in Ogba, Ikeja.
"I sell frozen fish and chickens, and I have lost a lot of money because my products have defrosted in the freezers and are now discarded," she lamented.
According to Ijeh, several businesses in the area face similar losses as unreliable electricity increases operating costs.
Federal Government announces electricity restoration
On Monday, Tegbe announced that repairs to the vandalised Benin-Egbin 330-kilovolt transmission line had helped restore electricity to several communities across the five affected locations.
He disclosed that the repaired infrastructure increased electricity supply to the Lagos transmission complex to more than 1,000 megawatts, returning it to its pre-disruption level.
"Power has since been restored to many of the areas earlier affected by power disruptions, largely in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kwara and the FCT," the minister said.
However, he acknowledged that some communities remained without adequate supply, assuring residents that restoration efforts were continuing.
Gas shortages, vandalism worsen power outages
Explaining the disruptions, Tegbe identified maintenance at Egbin Power Station, inadequate gas supply to thermal generating plants and vandalism of transmission infrastructure as major contributing factors.
He said the electricity shortfall forced grid operators to implement load shedding across affected communities.
The minister had earlier indicated that generating units undergoing maintenance would return to service in phases, with initial restoration expected within 48 to 72 hours, Punch reported.
The government is also working with generation companies, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the system operator and distribution companies to improve supply.
Source: Getty Images
Lagos expects additional 400MW electricity supply
Meanwhile, Tegbe disclosed that efforts were underway to restore the Osogbo-Ikeja West 330kV transmission line, which has reportedly remained out of service for approximately 18 months.
Speaking during a television programme, he explained that vandalism involving six transmission towers in a swampy location had delayed restoration.
According to the minister, repairing the line could deliver an additional 400MW of electricity to Lagos.
He said TCN had committed to completing the repairs before the end of November.
Despite these assurances, residents maintain that improvements announced at the transmission level have yet to translate into reliable electricity in their homes and businesses.
Outages: Ikeja Electric apologises seven times
Legit.ng earlier reported that Ikeja Electric has come under renewed scrutiny after issuing seven public apologies within nine days over its inability to provide the minimum 20 hours of daily electricity promised to customers on Band A feeders.
The electricity distribution company repeatedly acknowledged supply failures in notices published on its official X handle between October 27 and November 4, 2026, raising concerns about persistent power disruptions across parts of Lagos.
Source: Legit.ng
