Interested individuals are already jostling for the seat of the Minister of Power, as the current minister, Adebayo Adelabu, prepares to contest the Oyo State governorship election, The PUNCH has learnt.
This is even as stakeholders urged President Bola Tinubu to appoint a technocrat as his replacement.
Barring any last-minute change of plans, Adelabu is expected to resign his appointment in the coming weeks to vie for the Oyo governorship ticket under the All Progressives Congress.
According to the new Electoral Act 2026 and the revised timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, the conduct of party primaries, including the resolution of disputes arising from them, will commence on April 23 and end on May 30, 2026.
During an engagement with stakeholders in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry in Lagos towards the end of last year, Adelabu had hinted that he would love to achieve some feats “before I leave office”.
Some aides of the minister confided in our correspondent that Adelabu made the remark because he has the intention to contest the governorship race in Oyo State.
In a trending video in October 2025, Adelabu formally declared his intention to run for governor in Oyo, recalling how he lost to the incumbent Governor Seyi Makinde in 2019 and 2023.
“I have now paid my dues. I contested against Seyi (Makinde) in 2019. In 2023, I also contested against Seyi, then as the sitting governor. But in 2027, God has shown that it’s our turn. It’s Adelabu’s turn. Anything that belongs to Adelabu belongs to us all,” he said last year.
Contacted about when the minister is likely to resign, his media aide, Bolaji Tunji, said the president had not directed cabinet members with political ambitions to step down.
“We need to await development, as I am not sure the President has said those with political ambition should resign,” Tunji told our correspondent.
Punch correspondent gathered that individuals interested in Adelabu’s job are already lobbying the presidency, knowing full well that he would resign to pursue his gubernatorial ambitions.
Meanwhile, stakeholders appealed to Tinubu to ensure he puts a round peg in a round hole, saying the new minister must be a technocrat.
Speaking with our correspondent, a power sector expert, Bode Fadipe, advised the president to appoint a technocrat as Adelabu’s replacement.
According to Fadipe, anybody to replace Adelabu should be someone with knowledge of the power sector and one who has a national agenda instead of self-interests.
“My choice will be a technocrat who has knowledge of the power sector and whose agenda is national rather than personal interest,” Fadipe stated.
Also, the Convener of PowerUp Nigeria, Adetayo Adegbemle, said whoever is appointed to replace Adelabu, if he eventually resigns, must have a clear understanding of the assignment.
Adegbemle argued that such a person must understand the challenges of the power sector and must have demonstrated that understanding prior to appointment.
He stated that before the inauguration of the Tinubu government, he had published an agenda that spoke directly to the challenges of the power sector, and when Adelabu was appointed as the power minister, he believed that his background in the finance sector would be a benefit to the power sector.
“Prior to the inauguration of Tinubu’s first term, I wrote and published an agenda that spoke directly to the challenges of the power sector, and when this present minister was appointed, I believed his background in the finance sector would have been of benefit.
“However, ministerial appointments being majorly political, I would expect that anyone being appointed should have a clear understanding of the assignment on hand, understand the challenges of the power sector, and have displayed this understanding before being appointed,” he said.
The PowerUp Nigeria convener added that the next minister should reduce political interference in the sector, saying the minister should not play politics with issues affecting the sector.
“I would also expect that such a person be able to play less politics with the power sector, as it is clearly our path to industrialisation, creation of jobs, and basically, an economy-oriented decision that is able to see the office and power sector as economy-driving ones,” Adegbemle advised.
A professor of energy, Dayo Ayoade, argued that Adelabu’s replacement should not be someone with political ambition. He appealed to the president to consider a technocrat with solid knowledge of that power sector.
“The sector is collapsing; we need a technocrat. We need someone who can manage the crisis that we are in,” the don said.
But in a dissenting voice, the coordinator of the Electricity Consumers Forum, Adeola Samuel-Ilori, said that the ministry should be run by the Permanent Secretary till next year.
“He (Tinubu) should let the ministry be run by the permanent secretary till next year when the election will be done and a new cabinet formed if he wins,” Samuel-Ilori said.
According to him, the ministry has always been on autopilot. “The man (Adelabu) was and is still a banker, not an engineer. I think his appointment was for political patronage and reward, even though another ministry would have been better for such consideration, but it’s a big gamble; hence, no minister should be employed once he resigns except if the man has no name to protect, because there is nothing on the ground for such an appointee to do,” Samuel-Ilori stated.
Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor (Operations) at the Central Bank of Nigeria, was appointed by Tinubu in 2023 to oversee the country’s deteriorating power ministry. His appointment generated reactions from some stakeholders who argued that he lacked the technical expertise to manage a sector as critical as power.
However, the Oyo-born politician maintained at the time that he was appointed to reform the power sector and not to operate as an engineer or a technician. Adelabu is expected to resign his ministerial appointment soon if he proceeds with his bid for the Oyo governorship race.
Punch