The Federal Government has pledged to complete and inaugurate a new 480‑megawatt substation in Abeokuta by December. The assurance came from Mr Kenny Anuwe, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FGN Power Company, during a Thursday inspection at the Toolu community in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area, Ogun State. Anuwe said President Bola Tinubu's administration is allocating substantial resources to power infrastructure, including upgrades to five brownfield substations—Abeokuta, Ayede, Offa, Onitsha and Sokoto—under Phase One, which together should contribute roughly 986 MW to the national grid. He noted that more than 1,000 MW has already been added through mobile substations and transformers under the Presidential Power Initiative. The new facility will complement the existing substation, raising capacity from 132 kV to 330 kV and adding 480 MW to the grid. Civil works are slated for completion between June and July, with electrical installations to follow and commissioning set for December. Anuwe praised President Tinubu for funding the project and urged contractors to keep pace. Siemens Energy representatives, Mr Yusuf Mayhaja and Mr Eli Akiki, confirmed the schedule remains on track, targeting delivery before the close of 2026. (NAN) Edited by Modupe Adeloye/Folasade Adeniran
Mr Kenny Anuwe's confidence that the Abeokuta substation will be operational by December signals a rare instance of a clear deadline in Nigeria's notoriously delayed power projects.
The announcement arrives amid President Bola Tinubu's broader push to inject nearly 1 GW of capacity through upgrades of five brownfield substations, a move designed to remedy chronic load‑shedding and bolster the national grid's reliability. By upgrading the voltage level to 330 kV, the project aims to alleviate the supply gap between Ikeja West and Ogun, a bottleneck that has long hampered industrial activity in the region.
If the timeline holds, households and small businesses in Ogun and neighboring states could see a steadier electricity flow, reducing reliance on costly generators and improving productivity. However, the promised benefits hinge on the seamless coordination of civil works, electrical installations and the readiness of contractors to meet the December target.
The Abeokuta effort mirrors a pattern of high‑profile infrastructure pledges that often stall at execution. Successful delivery could restore some public faith in the Tinubu administration's capacity to translate policy into tangible service improvements.
