News

National Grid May Collapse With 6,000MW Power — NYCN

Published

3 years ago

March 5, 2023

The national power grid will collapse if electricity generation hits 6,000 megawatts, the President of Nigeria Consumer Protection Network, Kunle Olubiyo, has said.

Nigeria’s highest quantum of electricity ever generated on its national grid was 5,802MW, which was generated on March 1, 2021, and was evacuated at a frequency of 50.09 hertz.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria had stated at the time that this quantum of electricity was transmitted to power distributors, adding that the figure was higher than the previous peak by 186.20MW.

“TCN successfully transmitted an enhanced peak generation of 5,801.6MW at 9:30 pm on March 1, 2021. The peak generation was transmitted at a frequency of 50.09Hz. This value is higher than the 5,615.4MW recorded on February 28, 2021, by 186.20MW,” TCN stated.

Since then, power generation on the grid had continued to fluctuate between 4,000MW and 5,000MW, despite the increasing demand for electricity by the over 200 million people in Nigeria.

On Friday, for instance, figures obtained by our correspondent from the Federal Ministry of Power in Abuja showed that the quantum of electricity generated on the national grid was 4,962.7MW as of 6.00 am.

But amid calls for an increase in power generation, the NCPN president revealed that the national grid would collapse should it get up to 6,000MW of electricity from power generation companies.

He explained that regulatory inconsistencies coupled with the weak infrastructure in the sector were shrinking the electricity-carrying capacity of the national grid.

“Over the years, due to regulatory flip-flops and weakness, Nigeria has not been able to surpass 5,800MW of electricity. In fact, if at any point we decide to do 6,000MW, the grid as a monolithic structure will collapse,” Olubiyo stated.

Various updates from the sector showed that Nigeria’s power grid collapsed about seven times last year. It collapsed on September 25, 2022, when power generation on the system crashed from over 3,700MW to as low as 38MW.

On July 20, 2022, Nigeria’s power grid saw the sixth collapse in 2022, while on June 13, The PUNCH reported a grid collapse.

The nation’s power system collapsed twice in March and twice again in April last year.

Power generation on the grid had continued to fluctuate due to various concerns such as gas constraints, water management challenges, and gas pipeline vandalism, among others.

To address these challenges, Olubiyo tasked the incoming administration to give priority to the power sector, stressing that this was among the key demands of Nigerians and various business entities.

“As far as the power sector is concerned and the end-users or the public is concerned, the major priority of the in-coming administration should be energy security.

“Nigeria is one of the leading members of OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and it is quite abnormal and a global embarrassment that in the midst of abundant reserves of gas, crude oil and all other variables that make the energy economy, Nigeria still lacks adequate energy,” Olubiyo stated.

According to him, gas-to-power is very crucial as the mainstay of the economy.

The power expert further pointed out that the 5,000MW being shared by over 200 million citizens in Nigeria was grossly inadequate when compared to the acceptable standards globally.

“So, the major focus of the incoming administration should be energy security for Nigeria, because the United Nations benchmark is 1,000MW for a population of one million people,” Olubiyo stated.
PUNCH

News

Anambra Poll: CDD Releases Post-election Findings, Recommends improved INEC’s Operational Capacity

Published

3 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Editor

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), has released its post-election findings on the just concluded Anambra governorship election, recommending improvement in INEC’s operational capacity, prioritised voter education, issue-based campaigns, amongst others.

In a post-election press briefing held in Akwa on Sunday, the CDD said the “2025 Anambra election reveals that Nigeria’s electoral challenges are deeply linked to wider governance failures; weak institutions, elite dominance, economic hardship, insecurity, and lack of accountability continue to shape voter behaviour and electoral outcomes.”

In the post-election statement signed by Dr. Dauda Garuba, Director, CDD, and Professor Victor Adetula, Chair,
CDD-West Africa Election Analysis Centre, recommended that the “ongoing electoral reforms must target improving INEC’s operational capacity through timely funding, decentralised planning, and consistent communication.

“Such operational issues include logistics, mandatory real-time result publication via IReV, early voting for essential personnel and adequate personnel training.”

The CDD, while urging political parties to prioritise voter education and conduct issue-based campaigns, the organisation urged politicians to uphold internal democracy and adhere to transparent campaign financing.

“Elections cannot be treated as temporary security events. The government at all levels must develop a more sustainable security architecture that addresses root causes and provides year-round safety for residents.

“Only then can we safeguard electoral processes without relying on massive deployments that strain national resources and offer no long-term protection.”

The CDD, while decrying the prevalent of vote trading in the election, said conscious steps must be taken to discourage this “through deliberate efforts to deliver good governance while promoting civic education across all strata of society to discourage transactional politics.”

“The National Orientation Agency must take centre stage on this. Ongoing reforms of the electoral act must take into consideration the need to arrest and prosecute electoral offenders.”

The CDD said that “as the country prepares for the 2026 off-cycle elections and the 2027 general elections, these reforms must be prioritised.”

It added: “Nigeria’s democratic survival depends not just on voting but on the strength of the institutions and the governance practices that surround it.”

News

UPDATED: INEC Declares Soludo Winner Of Anambra Guber Poll

Published

10 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Editor

The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has been declared the winner of the Saturday, November 8, 2025, Anambra State governorship election by the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Edoba Omoregie.

Soludo, who polled a total of 422,664 votes, defeated his closest rival, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Nicholas Ukachukwu, who scored 99,445 votes, while the candidate of the Young Progressives Party, Sir Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes.

According to INEC, a total of 16 candidates from various political parties participated in the election.

The state had 2,788,864 registered voters, out of which 598,229 were accredited. A total of 595,298 votes were cast, while 11,244 votes were rejected across the 21 local government areas.

From the results announced, Soludo of APGA won in all 21 local government areas of the state in a landslide victory.

Announcing the results at the INEC headquarters in Awka on Sunday, Omoregie said, “The number of registered voters was 2,788,864, while accredited voters were 598,229. The total valid votes stood at 584,054, rejected votes were 11,244, and the total votes cast amounted to 595,298.”

He added, “After collating the results as tallied into Form EC8E, it is now my privilege to declare the figures each candidate scored according to their political parties.

“There were a few areas affected by incidents, leading to cancellations in some wards across Anambra West, Anaocha, Awka South, and Onitsha South LGAs, amounting to 10,481 affected votes. However, the margin of lead between the top candidates did not affect the overall outcome of the election.

“I, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, Returning Officer for the 2025 Anambra State Governorship Election, hereby declare that the election was peaceful. Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, having scored 422,664 votes — the highest number of valid votes cast and having satisfied the requirements of the law — is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”

Breakdown of results:

Total registered voters: 2,788,864

Total accredited voters: 598,229

Total valid votes: 584,054

Rejected votes: 11,244

Total votes cast: 595,298

Votes by political parties:
A – 224
AA – 1,145
AAC – 292
ADC – 8,208
APC – 99,445
APGA – 422,664
APM – 892
APP – 73
BP – 126
LP – 10,576
NNPP – 525
NRM – 36
PDP – 1,401
SDP – 241
YPP – 37,753
ZLP – 453

News

BREAKING: Soludo Sweeps Anambra Guber Election

Published

14 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Editor

The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the Anambra governorship election, Prof. Charles Soludo has been declared winner of the poll.

Returning Officer of the election, Prof. Edoba declared Soludo winner having polled
422,664 votes to defeat his closest opponent.

More details coming