The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) recently unveiled its performance report, revealing a period of unprecedented technical recovery and infrastructure revitalization. With Engr. Jennifer Adighije, who assumed office as the Managing Director/CEO in August 2024, the company has progressed from a period of stagnation into a new phase of operational efficiency. By prioritizing plant availability and grid stability, the new management has successfully restored critical power assets, directly contributing to the federal government’s goal of reaching a 6,000MW generation threshold.
The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) was established in 2005 to manage the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP). It is a unique limited liability company jointly owned by the Federal, State, and Local Governments of Nigeria. NDPHC’s mission cuts across the entire electricity value chain; it handles generation, transmission, distribution and gas infrastructure. Over the last two decades, NDPHC has been responsible for the construction of ten medium-sized gas-fired power plants, thousands of kilometers of high-voltage transmission lines, and hundreds of injection substations aimed at bridging the chronic energy gap in the Nigerian economy.
The most significant achievement of the 2025/2026 fiscal cycle has been the aggressive Turbine recovery program. Swinging into immediate action after her appointment, Engr. Jennifer Adighije identified a backlog of dormant capacity due to technical defects. With her team, she planned a maintenance intervention which has successfully restored approximately 600MW of electricity to the national grid. This included the repair of two major units at the Ihovbor Power Plant (230MW), alongside successful restorations at the Calabar (125MW), Sapele (125MW), and Omotosho (125MW) NIPP facilities.
To top it up, NDPHC has ensured that the long-delayed 570MW Alaoji Combined Cycle Power Plant in Abia State is moving remarkably fast. A recent legislative visit in March 2026 revealed that the project had progressed from a mere 1.1% completion rate at the start of the current tenure to over 16%. Jennifer Adighije compelled contractors to adhere to a revised recovery plan, setting a firm completion target for the third quarter of 2027. This project is expected to become the industrial heartbeat of the Southeast, providing dedicated power to the manufacturing hubs of Aba.
Knowing that generation means nothing without the ability to distribute it, the NDPHC management has announced a massive ₦500 billion investment roadmap for transmission infrastructure. This plan aims to eliminate stranded power by upgrading critical corridors and substations. As part of the efforts to improve the distribution space, the company recently commissioned a new 7.5MVA injection substation to boost local supply. This is without prejudice to the “Light Up Nigeria” initiative.
As Jennifer Adighije continues to inspire the company, NDPHC has also made its first major step into large-scale renewables. In late 2025, the bankable Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with NASENI and Haier Technologies was finalized. The aim of the partnership is to install a 10MW solar power plant in the Challawa Industrial Area of Kano. This pilot project marks the beginning of NDPHC’s Phase II mandate, which pivots toward a “Green Grid” strategy to align Nigeria with global energy transition goals.
The institutional reforms led by Jennifer Adighije have garnered significant national and international acclaim. In 2025, she was honored as the “Young Achiever of the Year” at the Energy Times Awards. In the same manner, NDPHC itself was named “Power Company of the Year 2025” by the National Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC). These awards reflect a new culture of transparency, customer-centricity, and gender inclusion. The company has established a robust gender-friendly work environment to foster technical excellence among female engineers.
The strategic focus of the current leadership is best captured by the Managing Director herself. Speaking at the 2025 Energy Times Award event where she was exclusively honoured, Engr. Jennifer Adighije stated:
“The mandate is very clear to us, which is to scale generation, transmission, and distribution capacity across the power sector. We are the only agency, institution, or entity in the power sector with the express mandate to carry out interventions across the entire gas-to-electricity ecosystem. And we’re not losing sight of this.”
As NDPHC moves toward the second half of 2026, the focus remains on finalizing the Alaoji recovery, expanding the solar footprint in Northern Nigeria, and collaborating with the new Grid Asset Management Company (GAMCO) to revolutionize power delivery.
Samuel Agboola is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspapers.
