By Celestine Okafor (Editor-in-chief)
The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has moved to reclaim the narrative around President Bola Tinubu’s 2023 electricity promise, arguing that recent public commentary has quoted the pledge without the condition attached to it.
In a statement by campaign spokesman, Dele Alake on Sunday, November 1, 2026, the council said Tinubu’s promise to end estimated billing should be considered alongside his warning that if he failed to deliver, Nigerians should not vote for him for a second term unless he offered adequate reasons.
At a meeting with the Organised Private Sector in Lagos ahead of the 2023 general elections, then-candidate Tinubu had said: “Whichever way, by all means necessary, you will have electricity, and you will not pay for estimated bills anymore. A promise made will be a promise kept. If I don’t keep the promise and I come for a second term, don’t vote for me, unless I give you adequate reasons why I couldn’t deliver.”
The campaign council said some recent commentary had reproduced the pledge “without its concluding qualification,” adding that a fair assessment should weigh the full statement against the administration’s record since 2023.
The statement, titled “Tinubu’s Electricity Campaign Pledge Must Be Considered in Full Context,” argues that while fixing the power sector remains unfinished, the President has not abandoned his commitment.
It cited the signing of the Electricity Act 2023 within two weeks of Tinubu taking office, saying the law liberalised and deregulated the sector and allowed states to participate in power generation, transmission and distribution. It named Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Ekiti, Oyo, Kaduna and Niger as states that have begun setting up their own electricity regulatory agencies.
The campaign council also pointed to the Presidential Metering Initiative, saying over 1.5 million customers have been metered in the last three years as part of efforts to close a metering gap of more than seven million.
On the financial side, the statement said the administration inherited over N6 trillion in legacy debt and created a N4 trillion bond programme to settle verified debts owed to power generating companies and gas companies. It said the first two tranches raised over N1.2 trillion.
It further said the administration had accelerated the Presidential Power Initiative through a December 2023 agreement with German partners, and that the Federal Executive Council approved contracts for the first batch of five Transmission Company of Nigeria substations, followed by a second batch of eight new substations and four upgrades.
The statement also referred to service bands and tariff alignment, saying the government was trying to improve the financial viability of distribution companies while protecting low-income households. It mentioned solar connections by the Rural Electrification Agency and plans to modernise the Osogbo Grid Control Centre and build an East-West super grid.
“Fixing the electricity market and power sector is ongoing work,” the statement said. “President Tinubu has not deviated an inch from his commitment.”
It added that as Tinubu seeks a second-term mandate, he will “proudly present his scorecard in the power sector and clearly tell Nigerians what remains to be done.”
The statement, however, did not provide a specific timeline for ending estimated billing outright. Its figures and project claims would require independent verification against records from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, the Rural Electrification Agency and Federal Executive Council approvals.
For now, the APC campaign’s message is that it wants the electricity debate fought on its full record.and on the full wording of Tinubu’s 2023 promise. NNL.
