BEN BRUCE CALLS FOR FRESH POWER SECTOR OVERHAUL, SAYS PRIVATISATION FELL SHORT

Former Bayelsa East Senator, Ben Murray-Bruce, has urged President Bola Tinubu to undertake a major restructuring of Nigeria’s electricity sector, arguing that the 2013 power privatisation programme has failed to provide Nigerians with dependable electricity.

Murray-Bruce made the call in an open letter to the President published on his X account on Saturday, August 29, 2026. He said the persistent problems in electricity generation, transmission and distribution require urgent and fundamental intervention from the Federal Government.

The former lawmaker based his argument on recent data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, noting the wide difference between Nigeria’s installed generation capacity and the amount of electricity actually available for dispatch.

According to him, NERC reported in April that Nigeria had an installed generation capacity of 13,625 megawatts, but only 4,286MW was available for dispatch. He said this represented roughly 31 per cent of the country's installed capacity.

Murray-Bruce further pointed out that only 10 of the country’s 28 power plants accounted for 81 per cent of total electricity generation, highlighting what he described as a serious structural weakness within the sector.

He also referred to the national grid collapse recorded on August 22, saying available generation fell from more than 4,000MW earlier in the afternoon to about 1,132MW by 8:30pm.

The former senator said several major generating stations, including Egbin, Geregu, Kainji, Shiroro and Zungeru, were producing no electricity at the time.

He argued that the situation demonstrated the depth of the challenges confronting the sector and described the current state of the industry as unacceptable for a country of Nigeria’s size and population.

Murray-Bruce traced many of the problems to the 2013 privatisation of the electricity industry, arguing that the process transferred ownership of power assets without ensuring that the new investors had the financial capacity required to properly operate, maintain and expand them.

He maintained that purchasing power assets and having the resources to continuously finance and develop them were two different matters that Nigeria failed to properly distinguish during the privatisation process.

According to him, electricity distribution companies serving a population of about 240 million people require strong financial positions and access to substantial capital if they are to expand infrastructure and deliver reliable service.

He suggested that Nigeria should have considered selling the assets to major international companies with extensive technical expertise, stronger balance sheets and the ability to make large-scale investments in the power sector.

The former lawmaker therefore urged President Tinubu to take decisive action rather than allowing the problems in the electricity industry to persist.

He argued that the Federal Government must address the underlying financial and structural weaknesses affecting the sector if Nigeria is to achieve stable electricity supply.

Murray-Bruce's intervention comes amid continued public frustration over electricity shortages, repeated grid disturbances and the financial challenges confronting operators across the power value chain.

He called on the President to begin what he described as a necessary process of fixing the electricity sector, stressing that reliable power remains essential to economic growth, industrial development and improved living standards.

The former senator's comments have renewed debate over the long-term effectiveness of Nigeria's power privatisation programme and whether the current ownership and financing structure can deliver the level of electricity supply required by the country.