Tinubu inaugurates committee for power grid management company

President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated an 11-member committee to oversee the establishment of the Grid Asset Management Company Limited (GAMCO), a new initiative aimed at tackling Nigeria’s persistent power sector challenges.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

According to the statement, the committee was constituted following the approval of GAMCO by the Federal Executive Council as part of reforms to address stranded electricity generation, transmission bottlenecks, and grid management inefficiencies.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who inaugurated the committee on behalf of Tinubu, described the initiative as a major reform step in the country’s electricity sector.

“The proposed establishment of GAMCO is one of the revolutionary steps taken by Mr President and this administration in the all-important power sector,” Gbajabiamila said.

He urged members of the committee to remain aligned with the administration’s vision while carrying out their assignment.

The committee is expected to review existing laws, regulations, and policies governing Nigeria’s electricity value chain, including generation, transmission, distribution, and market operations.

It will also examine the implications of the Electricity Reform Laws (2025) on asset ownership, management structures, and regulatory oversight, as well as identify any conflicts or overlaps between the proposed GAMCO framework and existing legal instruments.

Key assets under review include facilities owned by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company and the National Integrated Power Project, particularly the Omotosho, Olorunsogo, and Ihovbor power plants, which are expected to form the pilot phase of the project.

The committee will also assess the relationship between the proposed company and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, including the fiscal and market implications such as subsidy exposure, market liquidity, and revenue structures.

Members of the committee include the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi; the Ministers of Power, Works, Finance, Communications and Digital Economy, Science, Technology and Innovation, Aviation and Aerospace Development; and the Minister of State for Petroleum.

Others are the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, energy expert Yemi Oke, and the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Affairs Office, John Chidiebere Ezeamama, who will serve as secretary.

The proposed Grid Asset Management Company Limited will operate as a government-owned commercial venture, with shares held through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.

According to the government, the initiative is designed to recover and optimise stranded electricity generation capacity using the Benin–Lagos transmission corridor as a pilot phase.

The pilot will focus on improving output from the Omotosho (513MW), Olorunsogo (754MW), and Ihovbor (508MW) power plants.

The government projects that the initiative could recover at least 1,600 megawatts of electricity within 18 to 24 months, alongside the development of a new high-capacity 330kV double-circuit transmission line along the corridor.

Officials say the project is expected to boost industrial productivity, enhance investor confidence, protect jobs, and improve household welfare by stabilising power supply in Nigeria’s key economic centres.