April 30, (THEWILL) — President Bola Tinubu has appointed former Minister of Power, Mr Rilwan Lanre Babalola, as his Special Adviser on Power and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Power Sector Reset and Restoration, in a move to accelerate reforms and improve electricity supply across the country.
The appointment, announced on Thursday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, signals what the Presidency described as a decisive push to restore efficiency, commercial viability and operational discipline within Nigeria’s struggling power sector.
As part of the restructuring within the nation’s energy governance architecture, President Tinubu also redesignated the Office of the Special Adviser (Energy) to Special Adviser (Oil & Gas), a move intended to streamline responsibilities and eliminate overlaps in the management of the energy sector.
According to the Presidency, Babalola’s appointment reflects the administration’s resolve to drive a results-oriented transformation of the electricity industry, leveraging his extensive experience and understanding of the sector’s longstanding structural and operational challenges.
The newly established Presidential Taskforce on Power Sector Reset and Restoration is expected to function as a high-level implementation vehicle operating directly under presidential mandate, with responsibility for coordinating reforms and ensuring delivery across key institutions and stakeholders in the electricity value chain.
The taskforce has been charged with implementing a broad-based reform agenda focused on stabilising and repositioning the sector for sustainable growth. Among its key responsibilities are the execution of a comprehensive electricity sector reset programme and the implementation of a “Performance Before Expansion” framework designed to improve operational efficiency before embarking on further expansion initiatives.
The body will also work to reduce technical, commercial and collection losses that have continued to undermine the sector’s financial health and operational effectiveness. Other responsibilities include strengthening cost discipline, enforcing tariff integrity, improving sector liquidity and ensuring revenue assurance throughout the electricity market.
In addition, the taskforce is expected to restore grid discipline and market integrity, promote productive use of electricity across critical sectors of the economy, and develop Electricity Growth Zones aimed at stimulating industrial and economic activities through reliable power supply.
The Presidency further stated that the initiative is designed to reduce the government’s fiscal exposure to the power sector while creating a more commercially sustainable electricity market capable of attracting investments and supporting economic expansion.
A key component of the assignment is the preparation and delivery of a 90-day implementation blueprint that will outline immediate reform priorities, timelines and measurable targets for sector recovery and performance improvement.
President Tinubu expressed confidence in Babalola’s ability to bring urgency, discipline and strong execution capacity to the assignment, stressing that the reform initiative aligns with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and its commitment to delivering tangible improvements in electricity supply and overall sector performance.
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