BREAKING: Calls for Power Minister’s Resignation Intensify as Nigerians Remain in Darkness

• Persistent blackouts have triggered calls for Power Minister Joseph Tegbe’s resignation, as civil society groups demand accountability and the minister outlines plans to restore affected generating units.

Persistent blackouts have drawn fresh criticism of Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe, with civil society organisations demanding accountability over electricity supply and some calling for his resignation.

The criticism follows the minister’s explanation of the disruptions and his assurance that affected generating units would return to service in phases.

The National President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Yinka Folarin, rejected the explanation as inadequate and urged Tegbe to step aside. He also criticised the financial burden on consumers paying electricity bills despite unreliable supply.

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria coordinator Emmanuel Onwubiko questioned the minister’s handling of the crisis and called for scrutiny of the power ministry.

However, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre Executive Director Auwal Rafsanjani said the sector’s problems extended beyond one official. He identified infrastructure weaknesses, gas shortages, poor planning and regulatory shortcomings, while insisting that systemic problems should not shield public officials from accountability.

Rafsanjani called for an independent assessment of the minister’s performance, an audit of power-sector expenditure and stronger standards for operators.

Tegbe, meanwhile, attributed the recent electricity shortfall to maintenance work and constraints affecting gas supplies to power stations.

In his explanation, reported on November 7, the minister said work was underway to bring affected generating units back into operation gradually. He expected the first units to return within 48 to 72 hours.

That timetable concerned the initial generating units returning to service, rather than a guarantee that every affected community would receive uninterrupted electricity within the same period.

The minister’s account places the immediate response on restoring generation capacity and addressing fuel-supply constraints. The criticism from civil society groups centres on whether those measures will produce measurable improvements for consumers.