Social Democratic Party presidential candidate Prince Adewole Adebayo says his administration would seek to raise Nigeria’s electricity generation to 75,000 megawatts within a year if elected in the 2027 presidential election, using a combination of gas, solar, hydropower and decentralised generation.
Adebayo disclosed the plan during a Personality Interview Series organised by the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, saying Nigeria had outgrown previous electricity generation targets and needed a power system capable of supporting large scale industrialisation.
He said the strategy would combine Nigeria’s natural gas resources with renewable energy while rehabilitating existing hydroelectric facilities to recover generation capacity from infrastructure already in place.
“For now, any presidential candidate who is not giving you a plan for 50,000 megawatts is behind the time,” Adebayo said, arguing that Nigeria had moved beyond earlier targets of 10,000MW or 20,000MW.
The SDP candidate proposed greater reliance on solar power through decentralised electricity systems, including mini grids and embedded generation. He said such systems could supply communities and economic clusters that are poorly served by the national grid while complementing the conventional electricity network.
Adebayo said gas would remain an important part of the proposed energy mix because of Nigeria’s substantial domestic gas resources. He also said renewable energy would play a larger role in the country’s electricity system, particularly through solar generation.
The proposed expansion would not rely solely on new power plants. Adebayo said rehabilitating existing hydroelectric stations would form part of the strategy, allowing the country to recover generation capacity from existing assets while investing in additional infrastructure.
He also identified local manufacturing of solar equipment and other energy components as a key part of his plan. According to him, developing domestic manufacturing capacity would reduce dependence on imported equipment while creating jobs and supporting the wider industrial base.
Adebayo said electricity policy should be closely linked to Nigeria’s economic development strategy, particularly in manufacturing, agriculture and small businesses. He argued that more reliable electricity would reduce businesses’ dependence on costly alternative power sources and lower production costs.
However, he acknowledged that increasing generation alone would not resolve Nigeria’s electricity problems. His proposed reforms would also cover transmission, distribution, energy procurement and the electricity market to ensure that additional generation reaches consumers.
Recent data illustrate the scale of the challenge. Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission figures cited in recent reporting showed 13,625MW of installed grid connected generation capacity in April 2026, while average available capacity for dispatch was about 4,286MW.
This gap means that expanding generation would need to be accompanied by improvements to existing power plants, gas supply, transmission infrastructure and distribution networks. Adebayo’s plan therefore involves changes across the electricity value chain rather than generation alone.
He said his administration would pursue a coordinated approach covering generation, transmission and distribution, with the ultimate objective of translating increased capacity into reliable and affordable electricity for households and businesses.
Adebayo has previously included electricity among the central elements of his broader 2027 agenda, alongside security, employment, productivity and institutional reform. His campaign has argued that economic growth must be accompanied by improvements in productive capacity and living standards.
The 75,000MW proposal would represent a major expansion of Nigeria’s current power system and would require substantial investment in generation and supporting infrastructure. The candidate has not publicly provided a detailed financing estimate for achieving the target within the proposed timeframe.
For Nigeria, the debate over the proposal highlights the scale of the country’s electricity deficit and the importance of addressing both generation and the infrastructure and market constraints that prevent available capacity from being fully delivered to consumers.
Adebayo said that, if elected, his administration would treat electricity as an economic development issue and use increased power supply to support industrialisation, job creation, agricultural production and improved living standards.
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