President Bola Tinubu has constituted an 11-member committee to facilitate the incorporation of the Grid Asset Management Company Limited, GAMCO, a new initiative aimed at improving power transmission and addressing electricity generation in Nigeria.
The committee’s establishment followed the approval of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, for the creation of the company at its meeting on Wednesday, a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said.
According to the statement, the proposed GAMCO is designed to accelerate solutions to persistent challenges in grid management, transmission constraints and stranded power generation within the country’s electricity sector.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who inaugurated the committee on behalf of the President, described the initiative as a key step toward achieving the administration’s reforms in the power sector.
He said the committee would play a vital role in realising the President’s vision of a more efficient and reliable electricity system.
“The proposed establishment of GAMCO is one of the revolutionary steps taken by Mr President and this administration in the all-important power sector,” Gbajabiamila said.
“We are here for the inauguration of the Committee on the Grid Asset Management Company, GAMCO, which is aimed at optimising and transforming power generation, particularly the grid and transmission segment.”
He urged members of the committee to align with the President’s vision and diligently execute their mandate.
The committee is expected to undertake a comprehensive review of existing laws, regulations, policies and institutional frameworks governing the electricity value chain, including generation, transmission, distribution and market operations.
It will also examine the implications of the Electricity Reform Laws, 2025, and related unbundling arrangements on asset ownership, management and regulatory oversight, while identifying possible areas of conflict or overlap between the proposed GAMCO framework and existing legal instruments.
Part of its assignment includes assessing the legal status, ownership structure and contractual obligations of assets under the Niger Delta Power Holding Company and the National Integrated Power Project, including the Omotosho, Olorunsogo and Ihovbor power plants, which are expected to serve as pilot assets for the initiative.
The committee will also evaluate the interface between GAMCO’s mandate and the statutory responsibilities of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, and determine the fiscal, financial and market implications of the proposal, including subsidy exposure, market liquidity and revenue frameworks.
In addition, it will determine whether the establishment and operationalisation of GAMCO would require amendments to existing legislation, subsidy regulations or executive directives.
Gbajabiamila will chair the committee, with the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Ministers of Power, Works and Finance, among others, serving as members.
Other members include the Ministers of Communications and Digital Economy; Science, Technology and Innovation; Aviation and Aerospace Development; the Minister of State for Petroleum; the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service; and energy expert Professor Yemi Oke.
The Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office, Dr. John Chidiebere Ezeamama, will serve as secretary.
GAMCO is expected to focus on recovering and optimising stranded generation capacity using the Benin-Lagos transmission corridor as its pilot phase.
The Federal Government will wholly own the company as a commercial entity, with shares held by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.
Under the plan, the company will modernise transmission evacuation infrastructure, beginning with the Benin-Lagos corridor, which supplies bulk power to Ogun and Lagos states, Nigeria’s major industrial and commercial hubs.
The pilot phase will prioritise optimising generation from the Omotosho, Olorunsogo and Ihovbor power plants under the NIPP. The plants have installed capacities of 513MW, 754MW and 508MW respectively.
Through the initiative, GAMCO aims to recover at least 1,600 megawatts of stranded capacity within 18 to 24 months, alongside the development of a new high-capacity 330kV+ double-circuit transmission line along the same corridor.
If successful, the model is expected to be scaled across other generation plants and transmission corridors, forming a critical backbone for long-term grid stabilisation and expansion.
Currently, substantial Federal Government investments in NIPP generation assets remain under-utilised due to operational inefficiencies and transmission bottlenecks, leading to stranded capacity and reduced returns on public investment.
Under the proposed arrangement, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company will grant GAMCO concession and lease arrangements for the three plants, while the Transmission Company of Nigeria will authorise the firm to develop, finance and operate a greenfield 330kV+ double-circuit transmission line along the corridor.
The initiative, according to the Presidency, is expected to enhance industrial productivity, protect jobs, strengthen investor confidence and improve electricity supply to households, in line with the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
