Electricity: ‘Nigerians Tell Me to Slow Down, Freezers Are Freezing’ - Power Minister
Electricity: ‘Nigerians Tell Me to Slow Down, Freezers Are Freezing’ - Power Minister
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, says some electricity consumers have jokingly asked him to “slow down” with improvements in power supply because their freezers are now working continuously.
Tegbe made the remark on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, while speaking at the commissioning of a 3-megawatt solar hybrid power project at Yakubu Gowon University in Abuja, formerly the University of Abuja.
According to the minister, some areas that previously went for months without electricity are now recording significantly longer periods of supply.
“Places that didn’t have light at all for three months are now having 18 hours light. Some areas called me to say, look, I should slow down, that everything in their freezer is freezing. That is what freezer is meant to do. Let it freeze the food that needs to be frozen,” Tegbe said.
Tegbe said he had promised during his Senate screening that Nigerians would begin to see noticeable improvements in electricity supply within three to six months.
He, however, acknowledged the structural challenges confronting the power sector, noting that some electricity infrastructure in the country is more than 40 years old.
“Some of the infrastructure we have in the electricity and power sector are more than 40 years old. We’re systematically replacing them, phasing them out and bringing new ones,” he said.
The minister’s comments came as the Federal Government commissioned the new solar hybrid facility at Yakubu Gowon University under Phase II of the Energising Education Programme. The project was delivered through the Rural Electrification Agency with support from the World Bank-funded Nigeria Electrification Project.
