Tinubu appoints Babalola as special adviser on power

By Damilare Adeleye

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Rilwan Lanre Babalola as Special Adviser on Power and Chairman of a newly established Presidential Task Force on Power Sector Reset and Restoration, in a move aimed at accelerating reforms across Nigeria’s electricity industry.

The appointment, announced in a statement signed by the special adviser to the president on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, signals a renewed push by the administration to address longstanding inefficiencies in the power value chain and deliver measurable improvements in electricity supply.

As part of the restructuring, the presidency also redesignated the Office of the Special Adviser (Energy) to Special Adviser (Oil & Gas), a step officials say is intended to streamline responsibilities and eliminate overlaps within the country’s energy governance framework.

Babalola, a former Minister of Power, is expected to leverage his industry experience to lead what the government describes as a “decisive and results-driven reset” of the sector.

The task force he will head is to operate under a direct presidential mandate, functioning as a high-level execution body to restore operational discipline, improve efficiency, and strengthen the commercial viability of the electricity market.

According to the statement, the task force will spearhead a comprehensive overhaul of the power system, anchored on a “Performance Before Expansion” framework.

Its core responsibilities include reducing technical, commercial, and collection losses; reinforcing cost discipline and tariff integrity; and improving revenue assurance to boost sector liquidity.

Other priorities outlined for the task force include restoring grid discipline, enhancing market integrity, promoting productive use of electricity across key sectors, and developing Electricity Growth Zones to support industrial expansion.

The initiative will also seek to reduce fiscal exposure in the sector while delivering a detailed 90-day implementation blueprint.

The presidency said the appointment reflects Tinubu’s commitment under his Renewed Hope Agenda to drive urgent, coordinated reforms in the power sector, which has long been a critical constraint on Nigeria’s economic growth.

The President has tasked Babalola with bringing “urgency, discipline, and a strong execution focus” to the role, with expectations of tangible improvements in power supply and overall sector performance in the near term.