Nigeria's electricity distribution companies have accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) of telling "half-truths" about gas supply, as nationwide power shortages entered another week and public pressure forced two apologies from sector leaders on Monday.

Sunday Oduntan, Managing Director of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED, the industry body for distribution firms), said NNPC and the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO, the body managing grid operations) had issued contradictory accounts of the outage. NISO attributed the shortfall partly to low water levels and inadequate gas supply; NNPC responded that its gas network had recorded no delivery constraints.

"From the NNPC statement, it is very clear that they came to tell us half-truths," Oduntan said on Channels Television's Sunrise Daily. "What I would have expected NNPC to do is to go ahead and talk to us whether there are payment issues. We need to know whether gas was paid for and delivered, who did, who didn't."

What did the DisCos' representative demand?

Oduntan called on the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, to take control of a sector sliding back into the blame cycle of 2016 to 2019, when distributors, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), generation companies (GenCos) and gas suppliers traded accusations over poor supply.

"This back-and-forth blame game between gas suppliers, NNPC and, of course, TCN or NISO, I think the Minister of Power needs to take charge," he said. "There is a need for this leadership because, at the end of the day, they need to call them together."

He also apologised to Nigerians for the prolonged outages. "Nigerians have been taken through this problem over the past few weeks," he said.

How did the minister respond?

Tegbe, speaking on TVC News on Monday, asked for patience and set a three-to-five-year horizon for the full impact of the government's power sector reforms. He has served as minister for five months since taking office in June.

"I took office in June and have only served as minister for five months, though it sometimes feels like five years," he said. "The truth is, there are challenges at every stage of the value chain."

He too apologised for the outages, particularly in Lagos, and said President Bola Tinubu shared public concerns. "Nigerians deserve to have electricity. It is not rocket science," he said.

On finances, Tegbe said the Federal Government had cut outstanding sector debt to N3.3 trillion. "In the last few months, we have paid down N1.23 trillion. We only have N2 trillion left," he said, adding that the remaining N2 trillion would be paid next year.

He identified the inability of GenCos to pay for gas, partly because of debts owed to them, as a major constraint, even though Nigeria holds sufficient gas.

Was this a grid collapse?

Tegbe said no. He described the disruption as a supply decline caused by planned maintenance at the Egbin Power Plant and the vandalism of a 330-kilovolt transmission line serving Lagos. The damaged line carried 300 to 400 megawatts to the Lagos complex; the Egbin disruption removed nearly 800 megawatts of generation. The combined effect forced load shedding across Lagos, Ogun and parts of Kwara State.

Egbin's ST1 turbine had returned to service, and Tegbe said he had been assured the ST3 turbine would resume later on Monday, adding about 150 megawatts. Supply to the Lagos complex stood at roughly 1,000 megawatts on Sunday night and Monday morning. In a subsequent update, he said power had been restored to parts of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Kwara states and the Federal Capital Territory after repairs to the Benin-Egbin line.

Why is ageing infrastructure making things worse?

Tegbe acknowledged that much of the country's electricity equipment is 40 to 50 years old. Only three transmission lines currently supply Lagos; a fourth, from Oshogbo to Ikeja West through Oshodi, has been out of service for more than 18 months. Restoring it would add about 400 megawatts, with completion targeted for the end of November.

About six towers along that route have been vandalised, and swampy terrain is slowing repairs. The government has formed a task force against vandalism, comprising the Ministry of Power, TCN, NISO, the Office of the National Security Adviser, Homeland Security and the Department of State Services. Tegbe said many vandalised installations sit in areas affected by kidnapping and banditry, and that the government plans to deploy helicopters and drones and to seek legal amendments because magistrate court trials can delay justice for suspects.

What is the longer-term plan?

The government is strengthening the national grid for major cities while deploying solar mini-grids to remote communities where grid extension would cost too much. Tegbe cited Talase in Gombe State, without electricity for 17 years, and said some communities now receive round-the-clock power from mini-grids of 17 to 20 megawatts.

Why is public anger mounting?

Actress Kate Henshaw said Nigerians had turned their homes into "mini-factories" by generating their own electricity. Content creator Cute Abiola appealed directly to President Tinubu, citing heat and the absence of affordable alternatives.

The shortages have renewed criticism of the Band A, B and C tariff structure, as Band A customers entitled to at least 20 hours of supply daily report receiving far less. High petrol and diesel prices have made generators costly, while solar and inverter systems remain out of reach for many households. Some Nigerians and civil society groups have demanded Tegbe's resignation, after his Saturday appeal for calm and a promise of improvement within 48 to 72 hours.