Former power task force chair Dagogo-Jack says government policies lack timelines, accountability and clear targets, leaving Nigeria’s electricity reform directionless.

Former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power, Beks Dagogo-Jack, has criticised Nigeria’s electricity sector reforms, warning that the country is operating without a clear roadmap and relying on what he described as “flowery speeches” instead of measurable targets and accountability.

Speaking in an interview on ARISE News on Saturday following another national grid collapse, Dagogo Jack said the power reform process, which began over a decade ago, has lost direction due to the absence of a structured plan.

“I’m also disappointed, heartbroken about the fact that we’re still struggling with the power reform started as far back as 2010, thereabouts,” he said. “The truth of the matter is that we don’t even have a roadmap, a reform roadmap in play now.”

He argued that while reforms are typically long term, successive administrations failed to sustain focus and continuity. “The way reform works is that it’s a long distance race. It’s also a relay race. If you hand over the baton, the next guy must do the right thing,” he said, adding that under the Buhari administration “there was a disconnect with the reform race”.

Dagogo-Jack said the absence of a publicly available reform roadmap has made it impossible to track progress or hold officials accountable. “If you ask anybody to show you a reform roadmap, where are we going? Where will you be in 2024, 2025, 26? You will not see any,” he said.

According to him, Nigeria has had several power ministers in recent years, yet none presented a comprehensive reform package to Nigerians. “We’ve had about three or four power ministers since Buhari to date, but none of them has considered it fit to present a reform package to the Nigerian people,” he said.

He also questioned the impact of decentralising electricity regulation by moving power from the exclusive to the concurrent legislative list. “We did something nominal by taking the power out of the exclusive list and making it concurrent, but go to the states and find out what has happened. Almost zero,” he said.

On the repayment of debts owed to generation companies, Dagogo-Jack acknowledged it was necessary but insufficient on its own to fix the sector’s deeper problems. “Oh definitely. Part of the issues bedeviling the sector is liquidity and debt history and unresolved balance sheet factors,” he said.

He noted that the electricity value chain remains dysfunctional, with generators owed money and distribution companies struggling with remittances and energy theft. “Generators, GENCOs are owed. Discos are not remitting as much as they should remit, and they too are complaining about energy theft,” he said.

Despite these challenges, he warned that persistent grid collapses point to regulatory and institutional failure. “I know that liquidity is a problem, but it’s not meant to be so bad as to bring us down to zero electricity, grid collapses here and there,” he said. “We’re not even done with January and we have visited a grid collapse.”

Dagogo Jack dismissed claims that existing policies amount to a reform roadmap, insisting that broad policy documents lack concrete implementation details. “Those policy instruments are very broad in their dimensions. They do not have action plans with timelines and deliverables and resources required to get there,” he said.

He added that while government intentions may be positive, they do not automatically translate into results. “Intentions are very bold, but bold intentions and delivering results are related, but they are not automatic,” he said, calling for clarity on investment decisions, timelines and specific power projects.

“This is the kind of details you need to tie into your pronouncement so people are marrying the data and making sense out of it. We don’t see that.”

Beyond the power sector, Dagogo Jack also spoke on the political crisis in Rivers State, describing it as economically damaging and potentially premeditated. “The crisis has impacted us very badly, way more than people can measure,” he said. “When you don’t know what tomorrow will bring, you’re attacking the economy of the state.”

He argued that the crisis was not about the governor’s personality. “You could argue that this crisis was premeditated,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the governor.”

Dagogo-Jack said the situation exposed a deeper governance problem caused by the collapse of traditional leadership and accountability structures in the state.

“Without that fabric, you don’t have checks and balances,” he said, alleging that lawmakers now act on instructions rather than oversight. “One person makes a call, says jump, and they ask how high.”

Reflecting on the wider implications for Nigeria’s democracy, Dagogo Jack said the erosion of values within the political system was alarming. “It’s scary. A lot of distortions have taken place,” he said. “I feel bad for our younger generation. What template will they aspire to imitate?”

He warned that without systemic change, Nigeria risks continued instability despite its resources and potential. “The current system cannot guarantee the kind of destination that we should be looking at as a country,” he said. (AriseNews TV)

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