Demands answers as Nigeria’s power crisis deepens
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has asked President Bola Tinubu to explain why his administration appears unable to fix the country’s worsening electricity crisis.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, the group said Nigerians are enduring long blackouts, erratic supply and inflated bills, while the government keeps offering explanations instead of solutions.
HURIWA recalled that Tinubu promised 24-hour electricity during his campaign and said he would not seek re-election if he failed to deliver. It asked whether the President still considers that pledge binding.
The group also reacted to Power Minister Joseph Tegbe’s explanation that the shortages stem from maintenance at the Egbin Power Station and gas supply constraints. HURIWA said promising to restore the affected units within 48 to 72 hours does not answer why the system is so prone to disruption.
Questions were also raised about appointments in the sector. HURIWA asked whether party loyalty has outweighed merit, insisting the power industry must not become a reward system for political loyalists. It called for a proven electricity-sector technocrat to lead reforms.
On the minister’s disclosure that 98 of 300 containers of transmission equipment, stranded at the ports for nearly two decades, had been released, the association said the development points to institutional negligence. It demanded to know who owned the equipment and who bears responsibility.
HURIWA also questioned why the EFCC and ICPC have not established effective accountability around the huge public funds committed to the sector over the years, and called for an independent forensic audit of expenditure, contracts and abandoned projects.
Among its other demands, the group urged the President to set measurable performance targets with clear timelines and consequences for failure, and to direct regulators to protect consumers from estimated and unjust billing.
HURIWA warned that the crisis threatens jobs, industry, education, healthcare and small businesses, describing it as a national development emergency.
“Nigeria deserves electricity, not endless explanations,” the group said, urging Tinubu to show his government is serious about ending the crisis.
