President Bola Tinubu’s administration has come under fire for appointing Abubakar Yusuf as a Commissioner at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), despite reports that he previously failed the agency’s competency evaluation.
Multiple sources told SaharaReporters that Yusuf had earlier appeared before NERC’s regulatory panel for the mandatory Know-Your-Licensee (KYL) interview — an assessment used to test candidates’ technical expertise, regulatory knowledge, and strategic understanding of the power sector.
During that session, Yusuf reportedly performed poorly and was unable to answer key questions on tariff methodology, consumer protection, and energy distribution. According to insiders, the NERC Chairman and Commissioners at the time deemed him “incompetent” to head a power distribution company.
However, despite this verdict, the Tinubu administration has now appointed Yusuf to one of NERC’s highest decision-making positions. The move has drawn criticism within the industry, with many describing it as politically motivated rather than based on merit or technical competence.
A senior source said, “It is disheartening that the current administration seems to prioritise politics over performance. Yusuf failed the NERC KYL interview for the position of Managing Director of Kano Electricity Distribution Company, yet he has now been nominated as a Commissioner — reportedly to consolidate political support from Kano ahead of the 2027 elections.”
Observers warn that such appointments undermine professionalism and Nigeria’s drive for excellence in governance.
Meanwhile, the country’s power sector continues to face severe challenges. The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) recently laid off about 800 employees as part of an ongoing restructuring exercise, one of the largest retrenchments in the sector’s recent history.
AEDC, which supplies electricity to the FCT, Kogi, Niger, and Nasarawa States, has been struggling with inefficiencies and revenue shortfalls. Insiders revealed that management initially planned to dismiss 1,800 workers but reduced the figure after negotiations with the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC).
A sample letter titled “Notification of Disengagement from Service”, dated November 5, 2025, and signed by AEDC’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Adeniyi Adejola, confirmed that the layoffs were part of an “ongoing rightsizing process.”
Analysts have cautioned that the retrenchment reflects deeper structural weaknesses in Nigeria’s electricity industry, as distribution companies grapple with mounting losses, debts, and operational inefficiencies.
