The Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) of Nigeria has challenged President Bola Tinubu to explain the worsening electricity crisis despite making reliable power supply a major pillar of his second-term re-election promise.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, on November 8, 2026, HURIWA said it was disturbing that Nigerians continue to endure prolonged blackouts and outrageous bills while government offers repeated explanations instead of solutions.
The group expressed concern that the President has remained indifferent to the situation despite its impact on households, businesses, hospitals and schools.
HURIWA recalled that President Tinubu had promised 24-hour electricity during his campaign, declaring he would not seek re-election if he failed to deliver, and asked whether the promise remains binding.
The association questioned the handling of the sector by the Ministry of Power, reacting to Minister Joseph Tegbe’s explanation that recent shortages were caused by scheduled maintenance at Egbin Power Station and gas supply constraints affecting thermal plants.
HURIWA said the minister’s promise to restore affected units within 48 to 72 hours does not address why Nigeria’s power supply remains vulnerable to recurring disruptions.
“Nigerians deserve a power sector managed through strategic planning, competent leadership, transparent investment and effective regulation, rather than repeated assurances that electricity would improve after every major disruption,” it said.
The group questioned why technical competence and professional experience have been sacrificed for political patronage in appointments into the sector.
“Why should political patronage, party loyalty and considerations of political affiliation be allowed to overshadow merit in appointments to sensitive economic institutions?” it asked.
HURIWA said the power sector is too important to be treated as reward for loyalists, and called for a proven technocrat with capacity to coordinate generation, transmission, distribution, gas supply and regulatory reforms.
It also questioned the failure of EFCC and ICPC to establish accountability around public resources committed to the sector, demanding a comprehensive and independent audit of expenditure, contracts, abandoned projects and liabilities.
The group said the minister’s announcement that 98 out of 300 containers of transmission equipment stranded at ports for nearly two decades had been released raises questions about institutional negligence.
It further condemned estimated and inflated billing of consumers despite prolonged outages, calling on regulators to protect consumers and hold DisCos accountable.
HURIWA listed seven demands for President Tinubu:
1. Publicly explain failure to translate 24-hour electricity promise into a measurable delivery programme.
2. Conduct independent performance assessment of the Ministry of Power and leadership of relevant institutions.
3. Show that appointments are based on competence, expertise, integrity and performance, not patronage.
4. Consider appointing a qualified electricity-sector technocrat for strategic leadership.
5. Order transparent forensic audit of major power-sector expenditures and abandoned projects.
6. Set measurable performance targets for generation, transmission and distribution with timelines.
7. Direct regulators to protect consumers from unjust billing.
“The electricity crisis is not merely an inconvenience but a serious national development emergency… Nigeria deserves electricity, not endless explanations,” HURIWA said.