President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed former Minister of Power, Mr. Rilwan Lanre Babalola, as Special Adviser to the President on Power and Chairman of the newly established Presidential Taskforce on Power Sector Reset and Restoration.
The appointment, announced in a State House press release issued on Thursday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, signals the administration’s renewed determination to reposition Nigeria’s struggling electricity sector through a coordinated and result-oriented reform agenda.
As part of the restructuring within the nation’s energy governance architecture, President Tinubu also approved the redesignation of the Office of the Special Adviser (Energy) to the Office of the Special Adviser (Oil & Gas), a move aimed at clarifying responsibilities and eliminating overlaps in the management of the country’s energy sector.
According to the Presidency, Babalola’s appointment is strategic, given his extensive experience and deep understanding of the operational, regulatory, and structural issues confronting Nigeria’s electricity value chain. The administration expressed confidence that his leadership would accelerate reforms targeted at improving power generation, transmission, distribution, and overall sector efficiency.
The newly inaugurated Presidential Taskforce on Power Sector Reset and Restoration is expected to function under a direct presidential mandate, serving as a high-level implementation vehicle designed to restore discipline, commercial viability, and operational efficiency across the power sector.
The Taskforce will coordinate with relevant ministries, departments, and agencies to drive a comprehensive reset of the electricity industry. Its core responsibilities include implementing a “Performance Before Expansion” framework, reducing technical and commercial losses, strengthening tariff integrity, improving sector liquidity, and restoring market discipline.
Other key priorities outlined for the Taskforce include enhancing revenue assurance, promoting productive electricity use across critical sectors of the economy, developing Electricity Growth Zones, reducing government fiscal exposure to the sector, and delivering a comprehensive 90-day implementation blueprint for immediate reforms.
The Presidency noted that the appointment aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration, particularly its commitment to improving infrastructure, boosting economic productivity, and ensuring stable electricity supply for households and businesses across the country.
President Tinubu charged Babalola to bring urgency, discipline, and strong execution capacity to the assignment, with the expectation that Nigerians would begin to witness measurable improvements in power supply and overall sector performance in the months ahead.
