Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has criticised the latest collapse of the national power grid, describing the incident as a continuation of a deepening national crisis.

The national electricity grid collapsed on Friday, with generation plunging sharply from above 4,500 megawatts to as low as 24 MW by about 1:30 pm.

This left households and businesses across the country in darkness and disrupted supply to millions of consumers.

All 23 power plants connected to the grid reportedly lost output during the incident, resulting in zero allocation to the nation’s 11 distribution companies.

In a statement posted on X on Saturday titled “2026: The Collapse Continues”, Obi said the grid failure recorded in January 2026 mirrored events of the previous year, when the first collapse of 2025 also occurred in January and was followed by several others.

“In January 2025, we witnessed the first grid collapse of that year, which was followed by several other collapses. Now in January, 2026 the national shame has commenced with yesterday’s collapse,” he said.

Obi lamented Nigeria’s poor electricity access, noting that the country had remained at the bottom of global rankings for three consecutive years.

“It is utterly disappointing that for three consecutive years—from 2023 to 2025—our nation has been ranked as having the least access to electricity globally, with nearly 100 million citizens left without power,” he said.

The former Anambra State governor compared Nigeria’s power generation capacity with that of other African countries, describing the gap as alarming.

“When we compare our situation to other African nations, the disparity is stark,When we compare our situation to other African nations, the disparity is stark. South Africa, with its population of about 64 million, generates and distributes over 40,000 megawatts. Egypt, with about 115 million population, also generates over 40,000 megawatts. Algeria, with around 48 million population, generates and distributes over 50,000 megawatts.

“Meanwhile, Nigeria, the giant of Africa and its most populous nation with over 240 million people, produces a mere 5,000 megawatts—an absurdly low figure that severely hampers our productivity,” Obi said.

According to Obi, the persistent power crisis was rooted in governance failures, stressing that the sector required capable leadership to function effectively.

“This power crisis is a direct result of continuous leadership failures. The power sector is critical and requires competent and committed leadership to thrive,” he said.

Looking ahead to the 2027 general elections, Obi called on Nigerians to make leadership choices based on competence and compassion.

“As we look towards 2027, Nigeria must prioritise competence and empathy in its leadership. It is time to elect individuals with the capacity and dedication necessary to initiate a significant turnaround for our nation. Anything less is unacceptable,” he said. (Saturday PUNCH, but headline rejigged)

Update news