POWER SECTOR: ADELABU ORDERS 10-YEAR RESCUE PLAN TO ADDRESS MANPOWER SHORTAGE.... Pushes For Recruitment/Training Of 1,200 Engineers

...... Mandates the training of not less than 1,200 electrical engineers within the next decade and prioritizing local contractors under a strict “Nigeria First” procurement policy. 

Minister of Power. Chief Adebayo Adelabu has unveiled an urgent 10-year rescue plan to revive the manpower shortage in the electricity sector, mandating the training of not less than 1,200 electrical engineers within the next decade and prioritizing local contractors under a strict “Nigeria First” procurement policy. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the management retreat of the Ministry of Power, themed, ‘Development of Ministerial Performance Management System (MPMS) for 2025’, in Abuja on Tuesday, Adelabu warned staff that President Bola Tinubu’s administration would not tolerate excuses in delivering stable power to households and businesses, calling the sector’s revival “non-negotiable” for economic survival.  

The Minister’s declaration followed Monday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval of a sweeping roadmap to reverse decades of infrastructure decay in the country, despite the country’s vast energy resources.

 An executive order that will compel ministries and agencies to award contracts to local firms and invest in home-grown expertise will soon be rolled out by the President. 

“We cannot keep outsourcing our future,” Adelabu declared, citing a critical shortage of skilled professionals. “In 10 years, we must replace the lost generation of engineers”.

“Mr. President yesterday touched on the importance of the local content and an Executive Order is being drafted and will soon be released. It emphasizes the need to look inward in everything we do, particularly in contract awards. We must key into this in our local capacity building, in our resources and personnel. We must be intentional in our local capacity development. There is a dearth of good hands in the sector. Steps must be taken to ensure that this trend is reversed. Within the next 10 years, we must have at least 1,200 electrical engineers trained in the sector, to replace the lost professionals. Let us be honest with ourselves during this retreat so that there will be positive results. Let us be practical and not dwell on theories”, he charged them.

Adelabu acknowledged recent gains in grid stability since January 2025 but demanded faster progress, revealing that all ministry performance will now face quarterly scrutiny by the presidential monitoring unit.

 “When you’re performing, don’t listen to negativity, show Nigerians the evidence,” he urged staff, while admitting the public remains sceptical after years of unfulfilled promises.  

“In line with the renewed hope agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we’ve been given a clear mandate to deliver results which is being monitored, evaluated, and reported quarterly by the Central Delivery Coordination Unit to Mr. President. As a Ministry, we must not only align with that vision, but we must also lead the way as the success of our sector is vital for the success of every segment of the economy”, he said. 

“I am proud of the achievements that we have recorded in the past one and half years. Achievements in generation, in transmission and in distribution. Since January this year to date, there has been stability, particularly in the grid. This is as a result of team work and consistency in our effort to deliver on our mandate. When you are performing, just go on with your work and don’t listen to negative comments”, he said, as he admonished them to always showcase their achievements to the general public to see.

The retreat also focused on finalizing the ministry’s 2025 work plan as the Minister directed ministry officials to abandon “theories” for actionable fixes, calling for “brutal honesty” about systemic failures.

“It’s truly a pleasure to be here with all of you today. I want to thank each of you but for the dedication and relentless work you bring to the table every day. This has ensured a steady development towards sustainability for our sector even with the various issues plaguing the sector.

“This retreat is important to me as it gives us the space to pause, reflect, and come together not just to review where we have been, but to be clear and intentional about where we are going. The focus of the retreat is on performance management and harmonizing our 2025 work plan which is at the very core of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda to ensure Nigerians have access to steady and reliable electricity supply to power economic development. 

He also tasked them to use the opportunity of the retreat to speak frankly about issues concerning the sector.

“Let use this opportunity to talk openly, put emotions and sentiments apart. It must be issue based engagements, team work strategy because if the ministry is not performing it is a concern for everybody. No department is useless to our delivery. All our agencies and parastatals have their mandates which they must work to achieve. We need to strengthen all the departments and be on top of our games. We must be proactive and use the media to sell our good work to the public”, the Minister said.

“This isn’t about talk—it’s about doing,” Adelabu stressed, as officials left the retreat with a clear ultimatum: deliver visible results or risk becoming the latest chapter in the country’s long history of power sector disappointments.

 Speaking earlier, Permanent Secretary Mahmuda Mamman echoed the urgency, linking staff promotions to measurable outcomes and warning that “citizens will judge us by their meter readings, not our PowerPoints.”  

He admonished the staff to use the retreat to improve their strategy as he charged them on the need for accountability and capacity building. He said the retreat was meant for performance ethos that placed citizens at the centre of the ministry’s goals. He commended the Head of Service of the Federation for organising the event.