Despite the documented speech, Onanuga insists Tinubu never told Nigerians to fire him if he failed to improve electricity supply

President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, has described as ‘out of context’ statements that President Bola Tinubu told Nigerians that he would not seek re-election if he failed to provide constant electricity supply to the country.

Onanuga dismissed the claims which have recently resurfaced in many circles, and explained that the statement given to the president was conditional, and not a direct promise.

Onanuga spoke in an interview on Arise News on Tuesday, where he further asserted that the President’s statement regarding power sector reforms had been misinterpreted, as the statement was not a direct promise not to pursue a second term in office.

Reports quoted Tinubu at a business lunch in December 2022 ahead of the 2023 presidential election, saying, “If I don’t give you continuous electricity for four years, when I come back for a second term, don’t vote for me.”

However, the presidential aide argued that critics often only quote parts of the President’s statements and ignore the context of the statements.

When asked if the President had promised not to seek re-election if electricity supply did not improve dramatically, Onanuga said, “That’s not what he said. He said he would give Nigerians electricity. I’m paraphrasing now. He said he would also say he would end the area of ​​estimated billing. A problem he has largely resolved because it’s none of his business, but his government is producing meters, asking DISCOS to provide meters to the people for free.

“And he said, if he has any reason not to give Nigerians adequate powers, then they should understand the problems he inherited.”

When he was told that the President said he should not be re-elected if the electricity supply does not improve, Onanuga said, “He didn’t say it like that. Let me see if I can open my phone and say exactly what he said.”

Onanuga opined that Tinubu had demonstrated commitment to power sector reforms since assuming office, and called the signing of the Power Act one of the government’s major achievements.

“The first thing he did when he took office was to sign the Electricity Law, which allows the country to generate electricity, transmit electricity and distribute electricity,” he said.

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He noted that the law has opened up the electricity sector and encouraged competition, and several countries have taken advantage of the opportunities created by the law.

“This is a good thing. Some states are taking advantage of this, and more states will take advantage of this. This will make the power sector open and competitive,” he added.

The presidential spokesperson also highlighted the government’s efforts to address the metering gap across the country, saying that the government has intervened to ensure more Nigerians receive free meters.

“He was also aware of bill estimation errors, a problem his government largely solved because it manufactured the meters and asked distribution companies to provide them to the public for free,” Onanuga said.

While admitting that electricity supply has not yet reached the level expected by the President, Onanuga attributed the challenges to long-standing structural problems in the sector.

“We are not yet at the level the President wants. I can say that,” he said.

He explained that although Nigeria has an installed generation capacity of about 13,500 megawatts, constraints such as gas shortages, long-standing debt and weak transmission infrastructure have limited performance.

“What people don’t know is that we already have an installed capacity of 13,500 megawatts. What’s the problem? There is no gas. Players in this sector have legacy debts to gas companies amounting to over four trillion naira,” he said.

According to Onanuga, the Tinubu administration is seeking to resolve these issues while implementing reforms aimed at increasing generation and transmission capacity.

“The transmission network is outdated, but that is part of the reforms that need to be made,” he said.

He added that the government is exploring additional initiatives to optimize existing power assets and increase electricity supply across the country.

Onanuga stated that despite the challenges, the government remains committed to fulfilling its promise to increase electricity supply and strengthen the country’s power sector.