President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Rilwan Lanre Babalola as Special Adviser on Power and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Power Sector Reset and Restoration.
The appointment, announced on Thursday, signals a renewed push by the Federal Government to tackle longstanding challenges in Nigeria’s electricity sector through a coordinated, results-driven approach.
As part of the restructuring within the energy governance framework, the President also redesignated the Office of the Special Adviser (Energy) to Special Adviser (Oil & Gas), a move aimed at clarifying responsibilities and eliminating overlaps.
Babalola, a former Minister of Power, is expected to leverage his extensive experience in the sector to drive reforms across the electricity value chain, addressing structural inefficiencies and operational bottlenecks.
The Presidential Taskforce, which he will lead, is to function under a direct mandate from the President as a high-level implementation vehicle focused on restoring discipline, efficiency and commercial viability in the power sector.
According to the Presidency, the taskforce will spearhead a comprehensive reset of the electricity system, anchored on a “Performance Before Expansion” framework designed to prioritise efficiency and sustainability.
Its mandate includes reducing technical, commercial and collection losses, strengthening tariff integrity, improving revenue assurance and enhancing overall sector liquidity.
The taskforce will also focus on restoring grid discipline, promoting productive use of electricity across key sectors of the economy, and developing Electricity Growth Zones to support industrial expansion.
In addition, it is expected to reduce the government’s fiscal exposure to the sector while delivering a 90-day implementation blueprint outlining immediate and medium-term interventions.
The President said Babalola is expected to bring urgency, discipline and strong execution to the assignment, in line with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with the ultimate goal of delivering measurable improvements in power supply and sector performance across the country.
