From ECN to PHCN: A Legacy of Darkness
In the days when power supply was regular and stable, the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) served the nation. For “better service,” it became the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). If the name and logo changed for the better, the service certainly did not. From NEPA, we moved to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)—and indeed they held the power.
Privatisation was supposed to unbundle inefficiency and bring global best practices. But the promise remained a mirage until Buhari’s exit. Instead, nepotism thrived. At TCN, a recruitment exercise that brought in 700 workers saw only 140 drawn from the whole country, while the North West alone grabbed the lion’s share. Out of 40 General Managers, 25 came from that same region. That is the reign of darkness from which light is expected.
The Bulk at the Table
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu often says: “The buck stops at my table.” But in the Ministry of Power, the “bulk” seems to be blocking his well-intentioned reforms. The President must investigate the deliberate strangulation of TCN by entrenched cabals and the manipulations of a sister-agency chairman who reportedly seeks to chair the TCN board—must he kill TCN to become its chairman?
DISCOs in the Dark
Disco! Once a name for youthful parties in dimmed light, today it represents darkness in another form. If Nigerians are complaining about power supply, DISCOs have dimmed the light at TCN. How can a corporation owed ₦400 billion by DISCOs survive? Consumers owing DISCOs are forced to settle debts through deductions, but DISCOs themselves are shielded. Would there ever be light under Adelabu’s watch?
What is the development roadmap of TCN?
With over 100 abandoned projects left in pursuit of new ones, is it what it is; new project kickback? Who will explain Transmission Loss Factor (TLF) to Mr President and Nigerians? ₦300 to ₦500 million monthly was the Refining Loss Factor at the Port Harcourt refinery exposed by NNPC GMD. But the MD at TCN is keeping quiet over ₦6 billion monthly TLF.
Tariffs Without Service
In April 2024, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu unveiled what he called “reform.” Tariffs for “Band A” customers were hiked from ₦66 to ₦225 per kilowatt hour—later “mercifully” reduced to ₦206. Government hailed this as progress. To millions, it was the beginning of our DISCO party: daylight robbery.
Nigerians are paying more, yet TCN is starved of funds. The Nigerian Electricity Commission (NEC) gulps ₦6 billion monthly, while TCN—the goose that lays the golden egg—struggles to see even ₦500 million.
When Greed Outruns Service
The logic was cynical: squeeze more from the few who get 20 hours of supply, while leaving the rest in darkness. Price was jacked up first; service left to imagination. Reform became greed in official uniform.
Meanwhile, Chinyere the hairdresser in Ilorin closes shop by 6 p.m. because light is unreliable, while her tariff bill swallows half her profit. Usman the welder in Kano has lost three apprentices in six months—they couldn’t endure endless blackouts or the cost of diesel. Ngozi the nurse in Aba watches patients groan as hospital bills rise under a new “diesel surcharge.”
This is what tariff greed looks like at citizen level: jobs lost, clinics in the dark, SMEs bleeding.
Band A Nigerians and the Rest of Us
Government boasted that only 15% of consumers were affected. But electricity is not a club for the privileged. Once the tariff wedge is driven in, the blade only goes deeper—Band A today, Band B tomorrow—until the entire population pays more for darkness. Instead of closing the gap between service and pricing, Adelabu’s ministry widened the inequality of access.
Reform or Robbery?
Yes, the market needs cost-reflective tariffs. Yes, the sector bleeds trillions in subsidy. But reforms that begin with the pocket of the citizen, instead of the conscience of government, are not reforms—they are robbery in official disguise. A visionary minister would first stabilise generation, meter every home, and prove service consistency. Only then should Nigerians pay—and even then with less bitterness.
Tariffs of Tears
The truth is simple: tariff increases in a broken system are not reforms; they are tears squeezed out of the poor. Until power becomes steady, fair, and metered, every hike is just another peculiar mess.
And so the story repeats itself. Adelabu’s grandfather was nicknamed Penkelemesi—peculiar mess. Decades later, his grandson is scripting a new chapter in Nigeria’s peculiar mess. This time, the ink is not on ballot papers but on the electricity bills of tailors, welders, barbers, and patients across our land.
I call on all electricity consumers to lend their voice to this. Electricity productivity (power generation), supply, and competitive pricing in the context of our subregion should guide our decisions in 2027. We must call the attention of Mr President to the messy bulk of the “peculiar mess” on his table. The President should fix it or file out!
Our individual productivity as citizens is simply at the mercy of energy generation. On it should be the foremost decision of President Tinubu’s government now! We don’t need campaign handouts. We need regular electricity to make us live and thrive economically so that we can gladly become contributors to his tax reform.
If tariffs continue to outrun service, Nigeria’s future will be billed in darkness.
Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.
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