The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has defended President Bola Tinubu’s 2023 promise to end estimated electricity billing and guarantee a stable power supply, arguing that his remarks have been misrepresented.
In a statement on Sunday, the council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, said Tinubu made the commitment while speaking to members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) in Lagos ahead of the 2023 general elections.
According to Alake, the then presidential candidate had presented plans to tackle persistent structural and institutional problems in the power sector, particularly the challenges of estimated billing faced by households and businesses.
Alake quoted Tinubu as saying during the meeting: “Whichever way, by all means necessary, you will have electricity, and you will not pay for estimated bills anymore. A promise made will be a promise kept.
“If I don’t keep the promise and I come for a second term, don’t vote for me, unless I give you adequate reasons why I couldn’t deliver.”
The APC spokesperson said some recent commentaries had left out the concluding part of Tinubu’s statement, where he promised to provide Nigerians with adequate explanations if he failed to fulfil the commitment before seeking re-election.
He argued that the president’s pledge should also be considered alongside the measures his administration had introduced to improve the electricity sector since taking office in 2023.
Alake noted that Tinubu signed the Electricity Act 2023 on June 9, less than two weeks after his inauguration. The legislation allows state governments to participate in electricity generation, transmission and distribution.
He identified Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Kaduna and Niger as some of the states that have established electricity regulatory agencies under the law to encourage private investment in the sector.
On electricity metering, Alake said the administration introduced the Presidential Metering Initiative to tackle the backlog of more than seven million unmetered customers.
He added that over 1.5 million electricity users had received meters through the programme in the last three years.
The spokesperson also said the government had taken steps to address more than ₦6 trillion in outstanding debts accumulated between 2015 and 2025. He noted that a ₦4 trillion bond programme had been introduced to settle verified obligations owed to electricity generation companies and gas suppliers.
According to him, the first and second phases of the bond programme had raised more than ₦1.2 trillion to pay 21 generation companies and gas suppliers.
Alake further highlighted investments in substations, transmission grid expansion and renewable energy projects as part of the administration’s efforts to improve electricity supply.
He said the Rural Electrification Agency had connected universities, hospitals and rural communities to solar power. He also mentioned plans to upgrade the Osogbo Grid Control Centre and build an East-West super grid.
On transmission infrastructure, Alake said the administration reviewed the Presidential Power Initiative inherited from the late former President Muhammadu Buhari and signed an acceleration agreement with its German partners in December 2023.
He added that the Federal Executive Council approved the first phase of upgrades to five Transmission Company of Nigeria substations in December 2024. A further set of projects was approved in June 2026 to build eight new substations and upgrade four existing facilities.
Alake also said the government had introduced different electricity service bands and adjusted tariffs towards cost-reflective levels to strengthen the financial position of distribution companies, while putting measures in place to protect low-income households.
Although he acknowledged that efforts to address the power sector crisis were continuing, the APC spokesperson maintained that Tinubu remained committed to fulfilling his campaign promise.
“As he seeks Nigerians’ mandate for a second term in office, he will proudly present his scorecard in the power sector and clearly tell Nigerians what remains to be done,” he said.