The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and the Oyo State Government have given conflicting accounts of the state’s flagship power project, with both sides disputing whether the initiative delivered any electricity.
Mr Adelabu said the state’s 11MW power project at the secretariat in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, failed despite the investment of public funds.
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Speaking after a meeting with the management of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and other stakeholders, the minister described the 11kV project as moribund, adding that it had not generated or supplied electricity to residents. The exact date of the meeting could not be ascertained but the video clip capturing the minister speak circulated online on Tuesday.
“I need all hands, all levels of government to participate in this. The only power initiative that the Oyo State Government was trying to put together, the 11kV project at the secretariat is moribund,” he said.
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“A lot of money has gone into this, yet not a single kilowatt of power has been generated and supplied to the people of Oyo state which shows that it is not as easy as they think. The only attempt they made at ensuring provision and generation of electricity failed woefully after spending millions of government funds into it. I stand to be challenged on this,” the minister said.
Oyo govt disagrees
The Oyo State Government, however, rejected the minister’s claims, describing them as inaccurate.
In a statement on Tuesday by the Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Dahud Shangodoyin, the government said the 11MW Independent Power Project (IPP) was completed and partially operational.
It said about 5MW of electricity was generated and supplied to critical infrastructure at the Agodi Secretariat for about five months during a testing phase.
The government also disputed the minister’s claim on funding, stating that the project was privately financed under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
It said payments made by the state were strictly for electricity consumed during the test period, not for construction.
“It must be clearly stated that the project operated under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) arrangement. Oyo State Government did not release capital funds to the contractor for the project, as the project was fully funded by the private investment. Payments made were strictly for electricity consumed during the testing period, not for project execution,” the commissioner stated.
According to the statement, the major challenge was not generation but distribution, particularly the inability to extend supply beyond the secretariat to areas such as Bodija and Total Garden.
New project underway
The commissioner spoke of a new 12MW gas-powered Independent Power Project in Ibadan.
It said the project is at an advanced stage, with civil works and transmission infrastructure ongoing, and is designed to serve public institutions, street lighting and commercial clusters.
He said the initiative is a shift towards a more sustainable and scalable electricity model. He added that while criticism is welcome, it must be based on verified facts.
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“This project represents a shift from experimental power supply to a structured, scalable, and integrated electricity solution for Oyo State. While constructive criticism is welcome, it must be anchored on verified information.
“The statement by the Honourable Minister of Power is, therefore, clearly deficient in facts and does not reflect the true position of ongoing developments in Oyo State,” the commissioner stated.
Nigeria has faced persistent electricity shortages in recent months, driven by grid instability, generation shortfalls and transmission constraints.
The Minister of Power, recently apologised to Nigerians for the situation, acknowledging the hardship caused by the unreliable supply.
