Arise News co-anchor and veteran journalist Dr. Reuben Abati has criticised Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe over his recent claim that some Nigerians asked him to slow down improvements in electricity supply because their freezers were freezing too much.
Abati made the comments during a segment on Arise Television’s The Morning Show, while reacting to Tegbe’s statement and related discussions on electricity subsidies and power supply.
In the widely circulated clip, Abati addressed Tegbe’s remarks made at the commissioning of a 3-megawatt solar hybrid power project at the University of Abuja (Yakubu Gowon University).
The minister had said areas that previously went without electricity for months were now receiving up to 18 hours of supply, and that some consumers contacted him saying he should “slow down” because “everything in their freezer is freezing.” Tegbe added that freezing is what freezers are meant to do.
Abati described the minister’s account as disconnected from the lived reality of most Nigerians struggling with high electricity costs, generator dependence, and inconsistent supply. He suggested Tegbe “deserves prayers” for the remark and implied the minister appeared to be hearing things that do not reflect the broader public experience of freezers and power challenges.
Abati also used the opportunity to warn the Federal Government against removing electricity subsidies, arguing that such a move would further burden citizens already facing economic hardship.
The minister’s original comment has drawn sharp reactions from other critics, including Paul Ibe, media adviser to Atiku Abubakar, who said the Tinubu administration “hears voices the rest of Nigeria cannot hear.”
The video of Abati’s commentary has been widely shared on social media, including by accounts such as @hettysmedia on Instagram and others, amplifying the debate over the state of Nigeria’s power sector and government messaging on recent improvements.
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