A major civil society group has launched a blistering, public campaign for a top official’s head, branding a nationwide Christmas Day blackout as “a monumental failure of leadership” and demanding immediate political consequences.
The Electricity Consumer Rights Network (ECRN), in a fiery statement issued Friday, called directly for the resignation and public apology of the Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu. The convener of the network, Comrade Osita Obi, did not mince words, framing the hours-long outage that plunged countless homes, hospitals, and businesses into darkness as an unforgivable betrayal during a season of light and celebration.
“The Minister of Power should resign and apologise to Nigerians for giving them darkness instead of light during this festive period,” the statement declared. It escalated further, delivering a scathing personal assessment of the minister’s tenure: “In a civilised clime, he should not wait to be asked before throwing in the towel. There is no clear vision or capacity to lead a strategic ministry like the power ministry. He is a square peg in a round hole.”
A Call for “Decisive Action” in a Broken System
The ECRN’s attack moves beyond a single incident, targeting what it calls the “ritual excuses” that have followed Nigeria’s perennial power crises. Obi stressed that electricity is not a luxury but the central artery of economic growth and national dignity, and demanded the Federal Government move beyond empty promises to “decisive action” and radical reform.
The Christmas blackout, which crippled festivities and forced a costly reliance on generators across multiple states, has become a potent symbol of systemic collapse. Power sector analysts point to the incident as yet another of the country’s weak transmission infrastructure, poor grid management, and recurring system collapses —problems that have persisted for decades despite billions spent and countless government assurances.
A Gathering Storm of Consumer Anger
The Ministry of Power had not officially responded as of press time. In the past, officials from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) have blamed such outages on technical faults, vandalism, and systemic constraints.
But the ECRN’s statement signals that public patience has run out. They have vowed to “mobilise electricity consumers nationwide” to demand accountability, transparency, and a credible roadmap to stable power. This is not just a complaint; it is the opening salvo in a potential organized consumer revolt, using the scandal of a dark Christmas to galvanize a long-frustrated populace.
The political calculus is now clear. The call for his resignation is a demand for a sacrificial lamb, a tangible symbol that someone will be held responsible for a national humiliation felt in millions of darkened homes.
