Paul Ibe, media adviser to opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has sharply criticized the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, over claims that Nigerians requested he "slow down" electricity supply because their home freezers were freezing too quickly.

Minister Tegbe made the controversial remarks on Wednesday during the commissioning of a 3MW solar hybrid power project at Yakubu Gowon University (formerly University of Abuja).

The minister claimed that several communities previously without power for months now enjoy up to 18 hours of daily supply, prompting some residents to complain about over-freezing appliances.

"Some areas called me to say, I should slow down; everything in their freezer is freezing," Tegbe said during the event.

Reacting in a statement on Thursday, Ibe dismissed the minister's anecdote as an out-of-touch fantasy that contradicts the lived reality of millions of citizens facing high energy costs and frequent power outages.

"Apparently, the Tinubu government hears voices the rest of Nigeria cannot hear. It hears freezers freezing. Nigerians hear generators roaring. It hears an electricity revolution. Families see electricity bills consuming their incomes," Ibe stated.

Citing official operational performance data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for April 2026, Ibe highlighted a severe gap between national capacity and actual delivery.

He noted that out of an installed grid-connected capacity of 13,625MW, average available generation stood at just 4,286MW—representing an availability factor of only 31 percent.

Ibe further highlighted the broader economic pressures on households and businesses, pointing out that diesel prices have crossed ₦2,000 per liter in several regions, compounding operating costs for small enterprises.

"The real story is not that Nigerians’ freezers are freezing. What is freezing is the quality of life of Nigerians. Household incomes are being frozen by inflation. Small businesses are being frozen out by energy costs. Jobs are disappearing as operating costs rise," Ibe argued.

Urging the administration to abandon public grandstanding, Ibe called for practical solutions to stabilize the nation's fragile power sector.

"The government should leave the freezer jokes alone. Give Nigerians reliable and affordable electricity. Let their freezers freeze. Stop freezing their lives," he concluded.

ID