Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have urged the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, to intervene in the growing disagreements among operators in the electricity sector over the causes of persistent power shortages, warning that the industry is returning to the blame game that undermined it between 2016 and 2019.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Sunday Oduntan, made the appeal on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
Oduntan criticised conflicting explanations from the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) over gas supply constraints affecting electricity generation.
He warned that the exchange of accusations among gas suppliers, generation companies, transmission operators and distribution companies could frustrate efforts to resolve the ongoing electricity crisis.
“Our major problem is that we have started that very wrong route that we went through between 2016 and 2019. What is that? Blame game,” he said.
He recalled how operators previously shifted responsibility for poor electricity supply among themselves, with DisCos blaming the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), TCN blaming generation companies (GenCos), and GenCos attributing inadequate generation to gas supply and payment challenges.
“We have returned to that, and I think there is a need to arrest that,” he added.
Oduntan also questioned the differing accounts provided by NISO and NNPC regarding the factors responsible for the recent power shortages.
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While NISO attributed the decline in electricity generation partly to inadequate gas supply and reduced hydroelectric output, NNPC maintained that its gas transportation network had experienced no constraints affecting deliveries to power plants.
The ANED chief executive argued that NNPC needed to provide further clarification on whether outstanding payments by power generation companies were affecting gas supply.
“From the NNPC statement, it is very clear that they came to tell us half-truths. What I would have expected NNPC to do is to go ahead and talk to us whether there are payment issues. We need to know whether gas was paid for and delivered, who did, who didn’t,” he said.
He consequently called on the Minister of Power to convene a meeting of relevant stakeholders, establish the actual causes of the supply disruptions and ensure accountability.
“This back-and-forth blame game between gas suppliers, NNPC and, of course, TCN or NISO, I think the Minister of Power needs to take charge. There is a need for this leadership because, at the end of the day, they need to call them together,” Oduntan said.
Oduntan also apologised to Nigerians over the prolonged electricity shortages, acknowledging the hardship caused by weeks of inadequate power supply.
“I’d like to first of all start by apologising to Nigerians. Apology is needed; it is essential because Nigerians have been taken through this problem over the past few weeks,” he said.
The outages have disrupted household activities and business operations, forcing many consumers to rely increasingly on generators and other alternative power sources.
On November 5, 2026, NISO attributed the nationwide decline in electricity generation to inadequate gas supplies to thermal power plants and reduced output from hydroelectric stations, resulting in lower allocations to DisCos and increased load shedding.
However, NNPC disputed the explanation on November 8, maintaining that its gas transportation network had recorded no constraints affecting deliveries to power plants. It also reported a 10 per cent increase in gas production in 2026 year-to-date.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Power had earlier expressed optimism that electricity supply would improve within 48 to 72 hours following planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station, gas supply constraints and damage to critical transmission infrastructure.