Kate Henshaw electricity criticism puts Nigeria’s persistent blackouts under scrutiny as the actress demands accountability from Power Minister Joseph Tegbe
Nollywood actress Kate Henshaw has publicly challenged Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, over the country’s persistent electricity shortages, demanding explanations for the poor supply despite substantial financial investments in the power sector.
Henshaw expressed her frustration in a video shared on social media on Friday, November 6, 2026, questioning why Nigerians were still struggling with unreliable electricity when the country continued to commit significant resources to improving power generation and distribution.
Addressing the minister directly, the actress described a situation in which electricity sometimes returned for only a few minutes before disappearing again.
“Mr Minister of Power, there’s no light. There’s hardly electricity in 2026, yet millions, billions are being thrown into the power sector. What are you people doing?” she asked.
Her criticism extended beyond the duration of electricity supply to the explanations reportedly offered by government officials.
One particular issue that appeared to intensify her frustration was a statement Tegbe made in September about consumers allegedly asking him to slow down improvements in electricity supply because their freezers were working continuously.
At an event commissioning a 3-megawatt solar hybrid power project at Yakubu Gowon University, formerly the University of Abuja, on September 16, the minister said some residents had contacted him to complain that their freezers were freezing food following improvements in electricity availability.
Tegbe had remarked that some communities previously without electricity for three months were now receiving as much as 18 hours of supply.
“Some areas called me to say, look, I should slow down, that everything in their freezer is freezing. That is what freezer is meant to do. Let it freeze the food that needs to be frozen,” the minister said.
Henshaw questioned the credibility and representativeness of those alleged complaints, demanding that the minister identify the people who supposedly requested reduced electricity supply.
“I need the names and numbers of these people that called you and said you should turn off the lights, or you should slow down or whatever it is you imagine they told you,” she said.
The actress argued that such complaints did not reflect the experience of many households that continued to struggle with frequent blackouts.
She also questioned the financial accountability surrounding the electricity sector, particularly as consumers continued to spend money on alternative energy sources while receiving electricity bills from distribution companies.
Her concerns reflect a wider frustration among households and businesses that must increasingly depend on petrol-powered generators, inverters and solar installations to maintain their daily activities.
The latest criticism comes amid renewed electricity disruptions affecting several parts of Nigeria, including Lagos, Abuja, Ogun, Kwara and Oyo states.
However, the Federal Government has offered an explanation for the latest decline in supply.
In a statement on November 6, Tegbe acknowledged the difficulties facing electricity consumers, attributing the disruptions to planned maintenance at Egbin Power Station, inadequate gas supply to some thermal generating plants and damage to critical transmission infrastructure.
The minister explained that the constraints had reduced the electricity available on the national grid, forcing operators to introduce load shedding in some locations.
Egbin Power Station, one of Nigeria’s major electricity-generating facilities, accounts for approximately 16 per cent of the electricity supplied to the national grid.
Tegbe also said damage to important transmission lines had restricted alternative supply routes, particularly in Lagos.
He assured consumers that the government was working with the Transmission Company of Nigeria, the Nigerian Independent System Operator and electricity distribution companies to address the problems.
According to the minister, affected generating units would return to service in phases, with the first units expected to resume operation within 48 to 72 hours.
The minister’s explanation comes against the background of longstanding structural difficulties within Nigeria’s electricity industry.
Data published by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in October 2026 showed that grid-connected power plants had an average available capacity of 5,038 megawatts in September, with average hourly generation reaching 4,089 megawatts.
The regulator’s second-quarter 2026 report also recorded ₦744.67 billion in electricity bills issued by distribution companies, while total revenue collected stood at ₦603.64 billion.
The report highlighted an average distribution loss rate of 36 per cent, compared with an allowed target of 16.92 per cent, illustrating some of the commercial and operational challenges affecting the industry.
Nigeria’s electricity challenges have persisted despite successive government interventions, tariff adjustments and promises to improve generation, transmission and distribution.
The Electricity Act 2023 introduced a framework for greater participation by state governments in electricity regulation and encouraged a more decentralised electricity market.
In May 2025, the Federal Government also approved the National Integrated Electricity Policy as part of its broader plans to transform the sector.
Nevertheless, the gap between policy commitments and the everyday experience of electricity consumers remains a significant public concern.
Henshaw’s comments have generated reactions on social media, with several Nigerians expressing agreement with her frustration.
Some users questioned the effectiveness of government spending on electricity infrastructure, while others compared the current situation with previous administrations.
One commenter called on the actress to challenge earlier government assurances about improvements in electricity supply, while another described the current minister’s performance as worse than that of his predecessor.
Other reactions questioned whether the substantial resources allocated to the sector were producing meaningful improvements for ordinary consumers.
These comments reflect public sentiment surrounding the controversy rather than independently established evidence of financial misconduct.
For Henshaw, however, the issue appears to go beyond political disagreements or competing explanations from government officials. Her central concern is the continued difficulty of accessing a basic service that households and businesses depend on every day.
She also expressed disappointment over the emotional burden of repeatedly confronting the country’s challenges, saying she had deliberately avoided commenting on national issues for much of the year.
In one of the strongest moments of her video, the actress declared: “God will judge all of you. God will judge you people.”
She further joked that Nigerians deserved special treatment in heaven after enduring the difficulties associated with living in the country.
Her intervention adds a prominent entertainment-industry voice to the growing public debate over electricity reliability, government accountability and the cost of self-generated power.
Although the Power Ministry has outlined measures to address the immediate supply disruptions, consumers will ultimately judge the effectiveness of those interventions by whether electricity becomes more consistent and dependable.
For millions of Nigerians, the expectation remains straightforward: reliable electricity should not be an occasional privilege but an essential public service.
