Federal Government Unlocks 44 Stranded Power Equipment Containers as Outages Hit Lagos, Abuja, and South-West States

The Federal Government has initiated a major intervention to recover abandoned power infrastructure equipment stranded at Nigerian ports for over a decade, beginning with the successful clearance of 44 containers from the Apapa ports in Lagos.

The strategic move comes as Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, officially acknowledged worsening electricity supply disruptions affecting residential and commercial consumers across Lagos, Abuja, Ogun, Kwara, and Oyo states.

Gas Deficits and Hydro Drop Trigger Widespread Outages

Addressing the recent decline in power stability, Minister Tegbe explained that preliminary technical assessments indicate the current supply shortfalls are not the result of a total or systemic failure of the national grid.

Instead, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) and the Federal Ministry of Power identified three main operational bottlenecks constraining national generation capacity:

• Gas Supply Shortages: Reduced feedstock delivery to major gas-fired thermal power stations across the country.
• Low Water Inflows: Reduced water levels at hydroelectric power reservoirs, curbing seasonal generation output.
• Operational Maintenance: Ongoing maintenance procedures across multiple transmission and distribution assets.

As of 4:41 PM on Thursday, November 5, 2026, real-time distribution data showed that the 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) received a cumulative allocation of 2,926 megawatts (MW) across the national grid.

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company received the largest share at 633MW (21.6% of total grid allocation), followed by Ibadan DisCo at 391MW, Port Harcourt DisCo at 320MW, Benin DisCo at 264MW, Eko DisCo at 256MW, Enugu DisCo at 253MW, and Ikeja DisCo at 249MW. Meanwhile, Yola DisCo received the lowest regional allocation at 74MW.

44 Stranded Containers Cleared from Apapa Port

To tackle long-term infrastructure deficits, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu issued an executive directive instructing the Ministry of Power to collaborate with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to resolve outstanding demurrage fees and clear over 300 power equipment containers abandoned at Apapa ports—some dating as far back as 2014.

Speaking through a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Adeola Adelabu, Tegbe confirmed that the first batch of 44 containers has been formally released:

“The Ministry acknowledges the inconvenience this has caused households, businesses, and public institutions. We recognise what every hour without power means for families and businesses, and we do not take it lightly. Technical experts will now inspect the released equipment; serviceable items will be deployed immediately to active project sites, while unusable parts will be retired.”

This initiative follows a similar recovery operation executed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) under Managing Director Jennifer Adighije, which retrieved 110 abandoned containers and 216 capital packages—saving over ₦30 billion and unlocking approximately 470MW of thermal generation capacity.

The Ministry assured the public that joint teams from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), NISO, and the local DisCos are working around the clock to resolve fuel supply issues, accelerate scheduled repairs, and restore baseline electricity supply.