President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Rilwan Lanre Babalola as Special Adviser to the President on Power and Chairman of the newly created Presidential Task Force on Power Sector Reset and Restoration.
The appointment was announced as part of the administration’s renewed push to address Nigeria’s long-standing electricity challenges and accelerate reforms in the power sector.
In a related move, President Tinubu also redesignated the Office of the Special Adviser (Energy) to Special Adviser (Oil & Gas) to streamline responsibilities and eliminate overlaps within Nigeria’s energy governance structure.
Why Tinubu appointed Lanre Babalola
Babalola, a former Minister for Power, is widely regarded as an experienced figure in Nigeria’s electricity industry, with deep knowledge of the country’s generation, transmission, and distribution challenges.
His appointment signals Tinubu’s intention to pursue a more aggressive, results-driven reform agenda aimed at improving power supply, market efficiency, and sector sustainability.
Presidential Taskforce on Power Sector Reset mandate
The newly inaugurated Presidential Task Force will operate under a direct presidential mandate focused on restoring discipline, efficiency, and commercial viability across Nigeria’s electricity ecosystem.
According to the presidency, the taskforce will coordinate with key ministries, departments, and agencies to implement reforms across the power value chain.
Its mandate includes:
- Resetting Nigeria’s electricity system and market structure
- Implementing a “Performance Before Expansion” framework
- Reducing technical, commercial, and collection losses
- Strengthening tariff discipline and cost recovery mechanisms
- Improving sector liquidity and revenue assurance
- Restoring grid discipline and market integrity
- Promoting productive electricity use across major sectors
- Developing Electricity Growth Zones
- Reducing government fiscal exposure in the power sector
- Delivering a 90-day implementation blueprint
Tinubu seeks measurable improvements in electricity supply
President Tinubu expects Babalola to bring urgency, discipline, and execution-driven leadership to the assignment in line with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The presidency said the ultimate goal is to deliver measurable improvements in electricity supply, strengthen investor confidence, and improve overall power sector performance in Nigeria.
— Bayo Onanuga
