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By Tracy Moses
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, unveiled an ambitious 10-year rescue plan that could finally pull the nation out of the darkness, literally.
Speaking with unflinching resolve at a retreat in Abuja, themed “Development of Ministerial Performance Management System (MPMS) for 2025”, Adelabu declared that the days of bureaucratic slumber and empty promises were over. The era of brutal honesty, hard metrics, and visible transformation has begun, he warned.
“This is no longer a polite conversation, it’s a rescue mission, the revival of the power sector is not negotiable. It is central to our economic survival. Any delay, excuse, or half-measure will no longer be tolerated under President Tinubu’s watch.”
Coming just 24 hours after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) gave the green light to a sweeping roadmap for power sector reform, Adelabu laid bare the scope of the government’s intervention, including a draft Executive Order mandating ministries and agencies to prioritize indigenous companies in contract awards.
“We cannot keep outsourcing our future, we have to build capacity intentionally. The current shortage of skilled electrical professionals is a national emergency. Over the next decade, we must train at least 1,200 electrical engineers to rebuild the sector and reclaim our destiny,” he declared.
In a retreat charged with urgency and purpose, Adelabu tasked directors and agency heads to shed “theoretical posturing” and embrace actionable strategies tied directly to President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. He revealed that every key performance indicator would now be monitored and reported quarterly to the President via the Central Delivery Coordination Unit (CDCU).
“Drop the sentiments. Face the facts. Own the failures. Solve them,” he charged. “Every unit under this ministry must prove its relevance. Our success depends on our courage to disrupt the status quo.”
Adelabu acknowledged recent improvements in the national grid and modest gains in transmission and distribution since January 2025, but said they were mere sparks in a system still drenched in darkness.
“I am proud of what we’ve achieved in the last 18 months, but Nigerians are not interested in our applause. They want light. They want results. And they want them now,” he said.
He urged civil servants not to let criticism break their spirit but to meet cynicism with performance. “Ignore the noise. If you are delivering, let your work speak,” he said.
Echoing the Minister’s defiant tone, the Permanent Secretary, Mahmuda Mamman warned that future promotions in the Ministry would no longer be handed out for mere attendance or eloquence, but earned through performance.
“Citizens won’t judge us by our PowerPoint slides, they will judge us by their electricity bills and the hours of light they enjoy in their homes,” he stated.
He praised the Office of the Head of the Civil Service for facilitating the retreat, describing it as a chance to “recalibrate our compass and redraw our battlefield plans for 2025.”
As the retreat drew to a close, Adelabu delivered a parting shot that echoed like a commandment: “This is not about another committee or another talk shop. This is about action. Deliver results, or be remembered as another name in the graveyard of failed reforms.