Tinubu appoints board members for power system operator

President Bola Tinubu has appointed board members of the recently established Nigerian Independent System Operator.

He named Dr Adesegun Olugbade as the Board Chairman, while Abdu Bello was appointed the Managing Director of the new NISO.

An Independent System Operator coordinates, controls, and monitors the operation of the electrical power system, and works with the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

Tinubu also appointed executive and non-executive board members for the operator.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement he signed Wednesday titled, ‘President Tinubu approves board members for the Nigerian Independent System Operator.’

Tinubu appointed four Executive Directors, namely Nafisatu Ali for Systems Operation, Shehu Abba-Aliyu for Systems Planning, Dr Edmund Eje for Market Operations, and Mr. Babajide Ibironke for Finance and Corporate Services.

“The Non-Executive Directors include Lamu Audu, representing Generation; Mrs Folake Soetan for Distribution; Mr Tajudeen Giwa-Osagie as Market Expert; Sule Abdulaziz for Transmission, and Mahmuda Mamman, Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Power,” the statement read.

The National Council on Privatisation will finalise the recruitment process. Onanuga said the appointments align with the Electricity Act of 2023.

“They follow a memorandum from Vice President Kashim Shettima and a rigorous selection process conducted by the Independent Board Nomination Committee in collaboration with Phillips Consulting Limited.

“The creation of NISO fulfils a key mandate of the Electricity Act (2023), which requires the unbundling of the Transmission Company of Nigeria into a Transmission System Provider and an Independent System Operator,” he stated.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission officially established NISO on April 30, 2024. The Bureau of Public Enterprises and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated are its subscribers, each holding equal equity shares.