Chukwu Obinna 
Power Minister, Adebayo Adelabu
ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria’s Ministry of Power operates without any capital allocation throughout 2025 yet continues regulatory and supervisory duties in the electricity sector, Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu tells lawmakers.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on Power on Wednesday, Adelabu says the ministry records zero performance in capital expenditure last year because no funds are released, although salaries and overhead costs are fully implemented.
“There are three components to the budget—personnel, overheads and capital,” he says. “The first two are achieved 100 per cent, but the capital component records zero per cent.”
Despite the funding gap, Adelabu insists sector oversight continues, helped by revenue-generating agencies under the ministry. He adds that the national grid remains relatively stable in 2025, recording just one disturbance, caused by vandalism and gas supply disruption in the Niger Delta.
“In 2024, when budget performance is better, we will record one full grid collapse and four disturbances,” he says. “In 2025, with no capital funds, we will record only one disturbance.”
The minister assures lawmakers that fiscal lapses affecting the 2025 budget will not recur, disclosing that 30 per cent of the 2026 capital allocation is expected to be released by the end of March.
Senate Committee Chairman Enyinnaya Abaribe underscores the role of budgeting in accountability and stresses the importance of electricity to economic growth.
The disclosure comes amid ongoing reforms following the Electricity Act, which decentralises the power sector and expands state participation.
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