As the nation continue to grapple with electricity challenges, irrespective of the reforms being implemented , stakeholders and economists in the country have said the Power sector reform in the country remains a long-term and incremental process rather than a quick fix.

They based their submission on the sector’s complexity, political economy constraints, and institutional weaknesses, which would make the progress gradual rather than instant, warning that without decisive action to address structural inefficiencies, improve governance, and ensure fiscal discipline, the current trajectory will remain unsustainable.

An economist and Chief Executive, Center for the promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, noted that despite multiple reform efforts over the years, the sector continues to face deep structural, financial, and governance challenges.

These challenges, he said, are multi-dimensional, spanning political economy constraints, tariff distortions, weak investor capacity, transmission bottlenecks, and a persistent liquidity crisis across the value chain.

He argued that the inability to implement a fully cost-reflective tariff regime—largely due to social and political sensitivities following recent macroeconomic reforms—has entrenched subsidy dependence and widened the sector’s financing gap, thereby making government intervention to become unavoidable in the short term to prevent system collapse and sustain electricity.

He listed recent macroeconomic reforms, including foreign exchange unification and fuel subsidy removal, to have further complicated the reform environment by heightening cost-of-living pressures and intensifying resistance to tariff adjustments in the power sector.

“However, without cost-reflective pricing, the sector is unable to generate sufficient liquidity to sustain operations or attract new investment. The resulting subsidy burden has forced government to repeatedly intervene financially, effectively transferring inefficiencies and revenue shortfalls onto the public balance sheet,” the CPPE boss said.
Yusuf made it known that the current trajectory, characterised by rising sector debt currently at about ₦4 trillion, is fiscally unsustainable without deeper structural corrections, improved transparency, and gradual but credible reform implementation.

Giving an analysis of the sector, yesterday, the CPPE helmsman advocated for a balanced approach-one that combines short-term government support with medium- to long-term structural reform. This, he noted, is essential to building a financially viable, reliable, and inclusive power sector that can support Nigeria’s economic growth and development.

According to Yusuf, the current financing model for the sector is not sustainable. He’s arguement is based on the sector’s liabilities which have risen to nearly ₦4 trillion and continue to grow.

He therefore warned that there is an urgent need to ensure that all outstanding claims are properly verified; subjected to rigorous audit and managed transparently and credibly.

“Nigeria’s experience with fuel subsidy regimes demonstrates the vulnerability of subsidy systems to abuse and malpractice. Strong oversight and accountability mechanisms are therefore essential to prevent similar outcomes in the power sector,” Yusuf warned.

He noted that one of the major problems that has. Continued to weigh on the finances of the sector is the lack of a cost reflective tariff regime.

To address this, Yusuf, a policy analyst, admonished for the implementation of a phased and predictable transition toward cost-reflective pricing, with targeted social protection for vulnerable consumers.

This, he said, should be backed by a strong governance and accountability regime which will be targeted at improving transparency in subsidy management, debt verification, and financial settlements.

Importantly, he further added, is the urgency in addressing the distribution sector weaknesses. This will be by way of enforcing performance benchmarks for Discos, including recapitalisation, technical upgrades, and loss reduction.

The CPPE boss also canvassed for a reform in transmission management by exploring alternative management or concession models for TCN to improve efficiency and investment.

“It is important to support decentralization and renewables; encourage state-level initiatives, independent power projects, and renewable energy adoption to reduce pressure on the national grid. Also, we need to limit fiscal exposure as government financial support should be clearly time-bound and linked to measurable reform milestones,” Yusuf argued.

• 200 electric buses to cost N58 billion
• New BoA HQ in Eko Atlantic to cost N187 billion

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved a series of projects spanning industry, trade and aviation, including the purchase of 200 electric buses, adoption of a new national industrial policy and upgrades of navigational and safety equipment in airports across the country.

Speaking with journalists at the State House after the meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, John Eno, and the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, outlined the approvals granted to their respective ministries.

Eno said five memos were considered for his ministry, with three relating directly to industrial development.
He said Council approved the supply of 200 electric buses, at the cost of N58 billion for the National Automotive Design and Development Council, describing the decision as a significant boost to Nigeria’s automotive and green mobility aspirations.

He added that the design and construction of a new Bank of Industry headquarters at Eko Atlantic City, Lagos, also received approval, at a total cost of N187 billion.

Meanwhile, Council endorsed the Nigerian Industrial Policy 2025, a document he said was crucial to attracting global development partners and guiding the country’s manufacturing and diversification agenda.

“When I came in, development partners would not engage us because we lacked an industrial policy. This document now gives Nigeria a proper guide for industrialisation and aligns with the President’s economic diversification drive”, he said.

On trade and investment matters, the minister said Council approved the construction of internal and access roads within the Lekki Medical Tourism Park, Lagos.

Nigeria, he added, had also been confirmed as host of the next Intra-African Trade Fair following a competitive bidding process in collaboration with Afreximbank.

Lagos will serve as host city, with the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts (formerly National Theatre, Iganmu) designated as the main venue.

“This is a huge event for the continent and positions Nigeria strongly within the African Continental Free Trade Area. It reinforces our ambition to become Africa’s hub for industrialisation rather than a dumping ground”, Eno said.

Also briefing, Keyamo said Council approved several aviation infrastructure and safety projects, including continued maintenance and technical support services at the Aminu Kano International Airport by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), the builders of the airport’s new terminal.

He noted that the arrangement also includes training Nigerians to take over maintenance duties in the near future.
The minister also announced approvals for advanced navigational and safety technologies, including procurement and installation of the Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System at Lagos and Abuja airports to detect obstructions on runways and alert approaching aircraft.

Other approvals include construction of modular air traffic control towers in eight airports, installation of aeronautical frequency spectrum monitoring and interference detection systems, and upgrades of air-ground radio communication systems at nine airports, including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Ilorin, Maiduguri, Sokoto and Wukari.

Keyamo said the measures reflect the President’s insistence on aviation safety across the country.
“Our airspace is now one of the safest in Africa because of our compliance level since this administration came in. The President continues to insist that Nigerians must fly safely”, he said.

He added that Council also approved continued expansion of biometric-enabled electronic gates at all international airports to fast-track immigration processing and improve passenger experience.

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has unveiled a comprehensive security and economic framework aimed at harnessing Nigeria’s marine and aquatic resources, positioning the blue economy as a key driver of economic diversification, job creation, and long-term prosperity.
The President stated this on Wednesday during a Presidential Parley with participants of Senior Executive Course 47 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
President Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said his administration is committed to converting Nigeria’s maritime potential into sustainable national wealth.
According to him: “The blue economy offers a strategic pathway to diversify revenue, create employment, and revitalise ecosystems that underpin development.
He welcomed the NIPSS study on Blue Economy and Sustainable Development in Nigeria, describing it as a timely guide outlining opportunities, challenges, and policy priorities.
Highlighting Nigeria’s rich marine endowments, including an 853-kilometre coastline, inland waterways, fisheries, and a strategic position in the Gulf of Guinea, Tinubu directed the establishment of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, modernisation of ports, expansion of aquaculture, coastal tourism, marine biotechnology, and renewable ocean energy.
Acknowledging security challenges such as oil theft, illegal fishing, smuggling, and piracy, the President assigned NIPSS an expanded mandate to conduct a nationwide security diagnostic and provide actionable reforms for Nigeria’s security architecture.
He emphasised that the sector’s success depends on a safe and stable environment, institutional coordination, and robust policy frameworks, while also urging the launch of a national fisheries expansion programme and strengthened financing mechanisms to unlock the blue economy’s full potential.
Senior Executive Course (SEC) 47 is the 2025 cohort of the flagship Senior Executive Course run by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, for top-level public and private sector leaders in Nigeria.
SEC 47 is the forty‑seventh edition of the annual 10‑month Senior Executive Course, typically running from February to November at NIPSS, Kuru, near Jos.
Participants are drawn from the federal and state civil services, armed forces, paramilitary agencies, academia, organized private sector, and professional bodies, and successful graduates earn the “Member of the National Institute” (mni) designation.
SEC 47 is built around the theme “Blue Economy and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities.”
Under this theme, participants engage in lectures, seminars and fieldwork focused on how Nigeria can harness marine and aquatic resources for economic growth while ensuring environmental sustainability and inclusive development.
The course combines self‑study with intensive lectures by invited experts, round‑table discussions with policymakers, and continuous training in computer applications and French.
Participants also undertake local study tours across states and strategic institutional visits, producing group reports and policy proposals that feed into national decision‑making.
Each participant proposes research topics of policy relevance, from which one is approved and developed under supervision into a substantial project aligned with the national development agenda.
Towards the end of the course, study groups present a concluding seminar on a strategic national theme, whose distilled recommendations form part of an executive brief for the annual presidential parley and other high‑level engagements.
SEC 47 delegations have been reported paying courtesy visits to key traditional, governmental and corporate institutions as part of their study tours on the blue economy theme.
There is also ongoing litigation by at least one nominee challenging alleged unlawful withdrawal from SEC 47, which has brought additional public attention to the course and NIPSS’s selection and administrative processes.