The Senate has urged the Federal Government to stop the current trend of using public money to indirectly support privately-owned electricity distribution companies (DisCos).
During Thursday’s plenary session, Senator Yunus Abiodun Akintunde, who chairs the Senate Committee on the Environment, spoke about the matter and shared his concerns.
He noted that it has become normal for the government to buy electricity transformers with public funds for communities, but once these transformers are set up and connected, they become property of the DisCos.
“When you buy a transformer with government funds and hand it over to a community, the DisCos demand payment for installation,” Akintunde said. “But the moment it is energised, it becomes their asset. That’s how public money ends up enriching private monopolies.”
Senator Akintunde, who is also Nigeria’s first PhD holder in Energy and Environmental Studies, said this situation is both unfair and unsustainable. He urged the Federal Government to come up with a better plan that allows subsidies to actually help regular Nigerians.
He added, “Electricity subsidies are not a Nigerian anomaly—they’re a global necessity. Even in advanced economies like the UK, energy is subsidised. We shouldn’t abandon the idea simply because of past abuses. Subsidies, when properly managed, drive growth and shield the poor.”
Akintunde also talked about problems in the structure of the power sector. He said that even though power generation and distribution have been given to private companies, the government still controls transmission, which he described as old and weak.
“If you check most transmission lines and substations, they’re outdated and incapable of handling modern power needs. That’s one of the biggest bottlenecks to reliable supply across the country,” he said.
He stressed that the issue goes beyond just transformers. According to him, the entire system needs fixing.
“This is not just about transformers—it’s about fixing a broken system. We must stop using public funds to empower private interests. Instead, we must empower Nigerians with affordable and reliable electricity,” he said.
