A former Nigerian lawmaker, Dino Melaye, has strongly criticized the country’s worsening electricity situation, describing it as a “failure of governance” rather than a technical challenge.
Reacting to the latest drop in national grid supply to about 3,940 megawatts in March 2026, Melaye lamented that Nigeria, despite generating electricity for over 130 years, still struggles to provide stable power to its over 220 million citizens.
Through his verified Facebook page, he contrasted Nigeria’s performance with that of other African nations, noting that South Africa generates more than 48,000MW for about 60 million people, while Egypt has installed capacity of about 59,000MW for roughly 110 million people. Nigeria, he said, has about 13,000MW installed capacity but can only transmit between 4,000 and 5,000MW on a good day.
According to him, the persistent inefficiencies in the sector have led to repeated grid failures. Citing data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Melaye noted that the national grid recorded at least 222 collapses between 2010 and 2022, with 12 collapses occurring in 2024 alone.
He further highlighted the economic burden of the crisis, stating that restarting key power plants after grid failures costs the country about $25 million per incident, while vandalism of transmission infrastructure 128 towers destroyed in 2024 has required billions of naira in repairs.
Melaye also drew attention to the mounting debt in the sector, which stands at about N6.8 trillion as of February 2026 and is projected to hit N7 trillion. He explained that a significant portion of the debt is owed to gas suppliers, leading to reduced gas supply to thermal plants and worsening electricity shortages.
“The implication is simple, Nigerians are left in darkness,” he said, adding that thermal plants are currently receiving less than half of the gas required for optimal operations.
The former senator expressed concern over the country’s heavy reliance on generators, noting that Nigerians spend an estimated $14 billion annually on fuel and generator purchases. He pointed out that about 22 million generators across the country produce a combined capacity of roughly 42,000MW, far exceeding the output of the national grid
“This means Nigeria now has more generator capacity than grid capacity. That is not how any serious economy operates,” he stated.
Melaye warned that the impact on the economy has been severe, citing the closure of hundreds of manufacturing firms and significant job losses in recent years due to unreliable power supply. He referenced estimates by the World Bank that Nigeria loses about $29 billion annually approximately 10 percent of its GDP to power outages.
While acknowledging government efforts, including the approval of N4 trillion in bonds for the power sector, he expressed concern over the slow pace of implementation, noting that only a fraction of the funds has been released.
Comparing Nigeria’s situation with reforms in countries like Ghana and Egypt, Melaye argued that Nigeria’s prolonged power crisis reflects a lack of sustained political will and effective policy execution.
“This is not just a power problem; it is a governance problem,” he declared, urging authorities to adopt decisive and consistent reforms to address the challenges in the sector.
He concluded that Nigeria cannot achieve meaningful industrial growth while relying heavily on generators, stressing that no nation has successfully industrialized on backup power.