Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, has retracted his earlier statement regarding the alleged collapse of Nigeria’s national grid following a wave of criticism on social media.
Obi had made his original comment after a power outage affected parts of Lagos on January 11, 2025.
Many had initially blamed the outage on a collapse of the national grid. In a tweet, Obi stated that the frequent grid failures, which occurred 12 times in 2024, had caused Nigerians “untold setback and hardship.”
He also pointed out that despite the Nigerian government borrowing over $3.23 billion in the past four years to address electricity issues, grid collapses continue to plague the sector.
However, Obi’s statement quickly attracted backlash on social media, with many accusing him of making unverified claims.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) later clarified that the outage was due to the tripping of the Osogbo-Ihovbor and Benin-Omotosho lines, dismissing the grid collapse claims as false.
In response to the backlash, Obi reversed his position, explaining that his earlier comment had been based on reports from reputable media outlets.
In a follow-up tweet, he acknowledged the TCN’s clarification and expressed his gratitude for their timely response. He also emphasized the importance of improving Nigeria’s power sector to meet the growing demands of the country’s population.
Obi tweeted: “Following my earlier message regarding the alleged collapse of the National Grid, which was based on reports from reputable media platforms, I have since learned that there was no such collapse. Instead, the incident involved the tripping of the Osogbo-Ihovbor and Benin-Omotosho lines, which affected the Lagos axis. I sincerely hope we will prioritize enhancing our infrastructure in the power sector and remain committed to improving power generation to meet the growing needs of over 200 million Nigerians.”
