Tinubu Appoints Board for Nigeria’s Independent Power Operator
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President Bola Tinubu has named board members for the newly created Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), appointing Dr. Adesegun Olugbade as Chairman and Abdu Bello as Managing Director.
NISO, tasked with overseeing the coordination, control, and monitoring of Nigeria’s electricity grid, was established following the enactment of the Electricity Act 2023. It operates separately from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), marking a significant step in the restructuring of the country’s power sector.
The announcement, made in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, detailed the composition of the board, which includes four executive directors: Nafisatu Ali (Systems Operation), Shehu Abba-Aliyu (Systems Planning), Dr. Edmund Eje (Market Operations), and Babajide Ibironke (Finance and Corporate Services).
In addition, the president appointed five non-executive directors to represent key industry sectors: Lamu Audu (Generation), Folake Soetan (Distribution), Tajudeen Giwa-Osagie (Market Expert), Sule Abdulaziz (Transmission), and Mahmuda Mamman, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power.
The National Council on Privatisation will oversee the final recruitment process, with Onanuga stating that the appointments followed a rigorous selection process led by an Independent Board Nomination Committee in collaboration with Phillips Consulting Limited.
“This move aligns with the Electricity Act (2023), which mandates the unbundling of the Transmission Company of Nigeria into a Transmission System Provider and an Independent System Operator,” Onanuga said.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission formally established NISO on April 30, 2024. The Bureau of Public Enterprises and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated are listed as its shareholders, each holding equal equity stakes in the new entity.
The creation of NISO is seen as a crucial step in Nigeria’s ongoing power sector reforms, aimed at improving grid efficiency and reducing the long-standing challenges of transmission and distribution bottlenecks.
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