Nigeria’s electricity reform has transformed almost every part of the power sector except the one outcome that matters most to citizens: reliable electricity.
More than two decades after dismantling its state monopoly, electricity remains one of Nigeria’s biggest constraints on economic growth. Businesses still budget for diesel alongside salaries. Manufacturers generate much of their own power. Hospitals, schools and digital businesses maintain costly backup systems simply to function. Despite successive reforms, electricity remains less a public service than a private responsibility.
That is the paradox of Nigeria’s power sector. The country has reformed ownership, regulation and legislation, yet it has not built an electricity market capable of consistently delivering reliable, affordable power. Until that distinction shapes policy, reforms will continue to improve institutions more than outcomes.
The purpose of reform was never simply to privatise assets. It was to create an electricity system that powers homes, supports industry, attracts investment and raises productivity. By that standard, the reform remains unfinished.
For years, debate has centred on generation targets, tariffs and ownership structures. Important as these are, they have obscured a deeper problem. Nigeria inherited not only a failing public utility but also a dysfunctional electricity market. Private ownership entered a system with weak commercial incentives, inadequate infrastructure and a value chain whose participants depended on one another without the conditions needed for success.
