The President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government through the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu at the weekend urged the management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBDEC) to expedite action on the distribution of free prepaid meters to consumers in its catchment area.
He also challenged the company to immediately address other challenges facing electricity consumers.
Adelabu gave the charge when he paid a one day working visit to the corporate head office of the Company, located at Ring Road in Ibadan.
He said, from the records available, IBEDC has only distributed 16,300 out of the 59,000 supply received from the Federal government to the electricity consumers.
Adelabu, who noted that the low percentage of distribution of free prepaid meters within the franchise area impact negatively on the set revenue target, maintained that the defect will also pave ways for sharp practices on the part of consumers.
He said: “These meters were not procured by the Federal Government to remain idle in warehouses. They were provided to help utilities strengthen their financial viability, improve transparency in billing, and ensure that customers pay accurately for electricity consumed.
“Going forward, I would like to encourage IBEDC to leverage every regulatory and operational opportunity available to it. One such opportunity is embedded generation.”
The minister advised the IBEDC to treat early deployment of the available meters as a priority intervention necessary to improve customer confidence, reduce losses, and strengthen the sustainability of the power sector.
Adelabu disclosed that he has received many complaints about the operation of the IBEDC which has necessitated his meeting with the management on the way forward.
He stressed the need for the management to improve on its services to the consumers so as prevent the complaints that he is receiving from the consumers.
According to him the IBEDC had improved its service delivery which necessitated him calling the management to acknowledge and commend them years back, but that then situation had reversed, as he keeps getting series of complaints about the services.
“I have been receiving complaint from the electricity consumers fron the IBEDC franchise area on the kind of services being rendered.
“In 2025, I put a call forward to the Managing Director of the IBEDC to commend his activities on the improvement of electricity distribution in its franchise area.
“However, the year 2026, the performance indices graph shows that the situation is not the same again. Our engagement on some of the issues affecting the distribution of energy to the catchment area reflects the federal government’s commitment to maintaining close, solution-oriented relationships with operators in the Nigerian electricity supply industry.
“Our objective is to hear directly from IBEDC, understand their operational realities, identify their pain points, and explore how the government can better support their ambition as a utility responsible for powering homes, businesses, and industries.
“This engagement is in line with the ambitious plan of President Bola Tinubu to transform Nigeria’s power sector by ensuring reliable electricity for all Nigerians. The concession of the Ikere Gorge Dam to Quaint Energy presents a viable pathway to integrate up to 10MW of additional capacity into your network.
“Strategic engagement on this opportunity could help boost supply reliability within your franchise area.
“In addition, I encourage IBEDC to actively explore franchising arrangements and interconnected mini-grid partnerships. Government remains committed to creating a supportive policy and regulatory environment for viable electricity distribution businesses.
“Our collective goal is to ensure that DisCos, such as IBEDC, are not only financially sustainable, but also capable of delivering reliable, affordable, and improved electricity services to all Nigerians,” Adelabu said.
Reacting, Managing Director of IBEDC, Mr Francis Agoha, while acknowledging the Federal government for its supports enumerated some of the challenges being faced by the company.
He disclosed that in the past four years, the IBEDC has been without core investors.
Agoha added that this development is affecting the operation of the company in some areas, adding that the company has been able to sustain seven states under its franchise purely through government support, particularly the Ministry of Power.
He said IBEDC was recently sold to core investors, who are committed to providing the needed investment to move IBEDC to the next stage.
“We have also been working hand-in-hand with stakeholders, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Rural Electrification Agency, and all the contractors handling various government power projects within our franchise area.
“I want to commit here that in the next couple of months and in the future, we’ll see all the benefits of all the partnerships that we’ve had on the ground so far,” Agoha said.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
