By Ghazali Ibrahim
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed former Minister of Power, Rilwan Lanre Babalola, as Special Adviser to the President on Power and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power Sector Reset and Restoration.
The appointment, announced in a State House press release signed by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on Information and Strategy, on Thursday.
As part of the restructuring, President Tinubu also redesignated the Office of the Special Adviser (Energy) to Special Adviser (Oil & Gas), a move aimed at clarifying responsibilities and eliminating overlap within the energy governance framework.
Babalola, who previously served as Minister of Power, is expected to leverage his extensive experience to tackle longstanding structural and operational challenges across the electricity value chain.
According to the statement, the newly established Presidential Task Force will operate under a direct mandate from the President, focusing on restoring efficiency, discipline, and commercial viability in the power sector while improving coordination among relevant government agencies.
The Task Force has been assigned a broad mandate, including implementing a comprehensive reset of the electricity system, enforcing a “Performance Before Expansion” framework, and reducing technical, commercial, and collection losses.
It will also work to strengthen tariff integrity, boost revenue assurance, improve sector liquidity, and restore grid discipline and market stability.
Additional responsibilities include promoting productive use of electricity across key sectors, developing Electricity Growth Zones, and reducing the government’s fiscal exposure to the sector.
A key deliverable of the Task Force is a 90-day implementation blueprint aimed at accelerating reforms and delivering measurable improvements in power supply.
President Tinubu expressed confidence that Babalola will bring urgency and a strong execution-driven approach to the role, in line with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The appointment underscores the federal government’s commitment to addressing persistent challenges in the power sector, which have continued to impact economic growth and industrial productivity across the country.
