The race to succeed Chief Adebayo Adelabu as the Minister of Power has hit a fever pitch, with various interest groups lobbying the Presidency as the incumbent prepares to exit the cabinet to pursue his Oyo State gubernatorial ambition.
Investigations by The PUNCH reveal that the move follows the recently released Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) timetable and the Electoral Act 2026, which mandates that party primaries for the 2027 general elections be concluded between April 23 and May 30, 2026.
Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has made no secret of his intention to return to the Oyo State political fray. Having contested unsuccessfully against Governor Seyi Makinde in 2019 and 2023, the Minister recently declared to supporters that “2027 is our turn.”
Aides close to the Minister confirmed that his recent remarks during a Lagos engagement regarding “achieving feats before leaving office” were a subtle nod to his impending resignation.
When contacted, the Minister’s media aide, Bolaji Tunji, remained cautious. “We need to await developments, as I am not sure the President has directed those with political ambitions to resign yet,” he told our correspondent.
As the vacancy looms, industry experts are mounting pressure on President Bola Tinubu to break the cycle of “political patronage” and appoint a seasoned technocrat to salvage the nation’s fragile electricity grid.
Bode Fadipe,a prominent power sector expert, argued that the next minister must possess deep technical knowledge and a “national agenda rather than self-interest.” This sentiment was echoed by Professor Dayo Ayoade, an energy specialist, who warned that the sector is currently “collapsing.”
”We need a technocrat who can manage the crisis we are in. The replacement should not be someone with further political ambitions,” Prof. Ayoade stated.
Adeola Samuel-Ilori, Coordinator of the Electricity Consumers Forum, offered a dissenting view, suggesting the Ministry should be left under the supervision of the Permanent Secretary until after the 2027 elections.
”The man (Adelabu) was and is still a banker, not an engineer,” Samuel-Ilori remarked. “No new minister should be employed once he resigns… there is nothing on the ground for such an appointee to do in such a short time.”
As the April deadline for primaries approaches, the Presidency faces a critical choice: appoint another political heavyweight to maintain the APC’s influence in the Southwest, or heed the calls of experts to install a technical hand to stabilize the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).