The Nigerian National Petroleum Company has rejected the explanation given for the country’s recent power shortfall. On 5 November, the Nigerian Independent System Operator blamed limited gas availability and reduced water inflows to hydro stations for lower electricity generation. NNPC has now disputed that account.
Gas supply disputes between NNPC and the system operator are not new. The gas-to-power value chain has multiple links: production, commercial supply arrangements, transportation through the NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company network, and actual offtake by power plants. In 2024, similar blame-trading followed a partial grid collapse. Each agency defends its own segment. The public bears the outcome.
NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Andy Odeh, issued a statement in Abuja on Friday. He said the NGIC network had no transportation-related constraints that could explain the reduction in generation. “Gas supply availability is therefore not a challenge,” the statement said. NNPC said national gas production volumes had grown by about 10 per cent year-to-date in 2026. It attributed the growth to the federal government’s gas development and monetisation agenda.
The company then drew a careful distinction. Production, commercial supply arrangements, deliveries to individual plants and transportation infrastructure are separate components. Determining why generation fell, it argued, requires a full assessment of gas supplies, the operational readiness of generating units, maintenance schedules and actual gas offtake. It called for a coordinated review involving gas suppliers, transporters, power generators and NISO. Accurate reporting across the chain, it said, was necessary to sustain public confidence.
The exchange leaves the public with two official explanations and no resolution. NISO says gas was short. NNPC says its pipes were not the constraint. Both may be true in part. The difference matters because it determines who is blamed and who must act.
Winners: NNPC, which defended its operational record. Gas producers, who gained a growth narrative. The agency that eventually avoids blame. Losers: Electricity consumers, who face the blackouts regardless of who is right. DisCos, which absorb public anger. NISO, whose explanation is contested. The government, which faces another accountability gap.
Bottom Line: Two agencies, two explanations, one dark grid. NNPC says gas is available. NISO says it is not. Until they reconcile their data in public, the blame game will outlast the blackout.