‘Resolving power supply challenges is my priority for now’ — Adelabu keeps mum on Oyo guber bid

Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, has declined to disclose whether he will resign to contest the Oyo governorship election.

In October 2025, Adelabu declared his intention to contest the 2027 gubernatorial polls in south-west state.

On March 17, President Bola Tinubu directed all political appointees under his administration seeking to contest elective offices in the 2027 elections to resign before March 31.

The political appointees include ministers, ministers of state, special advisers, senior special assistants, special assistants, and personal assistants, as well as directors-general and chief executive officers of federal government agencies, commissions, parastatals, and government-owned companies.

‘RESOLVING POWER SUPPLY CHALLENGES IS MY PRIORITY’

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, Adelabu declined to say if he would resign as minister to pursue his gubernatorial ambition, noting that he is focused on addressing the country’s electricity challenges.

“What matters to me most now is this job that I am doing as the honourable minister of power. I am excelling on the job, and that is my priority for now, tackling foreseen, known and unforeseen challenges in the power sector,” Adelabu said.

“Resolving the power supply challenges is my priority for now. We have between now and March 31, if I am interested in the gubernatorial contest in Oyo state. It is all about service, whether at the national or subnational level.

“I will not say more than that. Whether I will be here or leave is a matter of time. I will get back to you.”

He became the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate in the 2019 poll but lost the election to Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In 2022, after losing the APC primary to Teslim Folarin, a former senator, Adelabu defected to the Accord Party (AP) and contested the governorship election on the party’s platform following the withdrawal of Ayodele Oyajide from the race.

Again, he lost the governorship election to Makinde.

He returned to the APC in 2023 and was appointed as the minister of power by President Bola Tinubu. (TheCable)