State Governments to share Electricity subsidy burden — FG

The Federal Government has directed state governments to begin sharing the cost of electricity subsidy alongside the Federal Government.

It was gathered that payments for the subsidy will now be funded through the Power Assistance Consumers Fund (PCAF), a government-backed pool created to subsidise electricity bills for low-income and vulnerable consumers. The fund is designed to replace blanket subsidies with targeted support, improve affordability amid rising tariffs and stabilise the power sector.

More than 18 states are already operating electricity regulatory agencies, while others are preparing to do so. The states include Lagos, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia, Anambra, Imo, Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau, Gombe and Jigawa.

The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Tanimu Yakubu, disclosed this in Abuja at the opening of the 2026 Post-Budget Preparation workshop on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).

Speaking in an address read on his behalf by the Director of Expenditure Social, Mr. Yusuf Muhammed, Yakubu said states that enjoy the political benefits of electricity subsidy must also contribute to covering the financial gap created by the policy.

“Mr. President has directed that we operationalise a clearer framework to share the cost of electricity across the federation, so the burden is not treated as an open-ended fiscal residual — I mean federal residual,” he said.

“If you want a stable power sector, we must pay for the choices we make. When tariffs are held low, a gap is created. That gap is a subsidy, and a subsidy is a bill.”

He added: “In 2026, we will stop pretending that this bill can be left to the Federal Government alone, especially where the policy choice or the political benefit is shared across tiers of government.”

According to him, the President has ordered the activation of the electricity sector’s legal framework to ensure subsidy burden-sharing is practical and transparent.

“This means subsidy costs must be explicit, tracked and funded, so they do not return as arrears, liquidity crises or hidden liabilities in the market,” Yakubu said.

“It also means that if any tier of government chooses affordability intervention, the responsibility must be clear, agreed and enforceable. This is not punishment. It is an alignment.”

He further warned MDAs to make subsidy-related costs visible in their planning.

“The implication is simple: make subsidy-related costs visible in your planning and submissions. Do not push liabilities into the market as arrears or unfunded commitments,” he said.

Yakubu also disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has directed a review of Nigeria’s Fiscal Responsibility Framework to make fiscal rules more dynamic and enforceable.

“Fiscal rules are not a slogan; they are the guardrails of government,” he said.

“Without guardrails, spending becomes impulsive, debt becomes casual, and the budget becomes a statement of intent rather than a tool of delivery.”

He added that capital projects in 2026 must be delivery-ready and properly financed.

“A long list of projects is not a development strategy. It is often a map of disappointment. What citizens feel is delivery, completed roads, reliable power, functional schools and working hospitals,” Yakubu said.

Reacting to the development, the Director of Media and Communications of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Mr. Yunusa Abdullahi, said:
“We are reviewing the context and content of the information. We will not be making further comments on it.”