Jennifer Adighije’s Stewardship at N/Delta Power Holding Company

By Keem Abdul

No thanks to the seemingly intractable nature of the challenges confronting the power sector in Nigeria, a lot of resources, time, energy and no small amount of soul-searching, have gone into the quest for a lasting solution to the epileptic supply of electricity in the country.

In early February, 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu demonstrated his commitment towards closing a sad chapter in Nigeria’s tortuous developmental path (and in particular its unenviable record in electric power generation and distribution) when he signed the Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024, into law. The Law seeks to, among others, address the developmental and environmental concerns of local communities, and sets aside five percent of the annual operating expenditures of power generating companies from the preceding year for the development of their respective host communities. More importantly, it also clears the regulatory path for sub-national entities in the country to generate their own electricity, in order to meet their socio-economic and industrial needs.

The President’s action was also aimed at complementing the Federal Government’s initial motivations in establishing regional power authorities to mitigate the structural and other limitations associated with the output by the national monopoly, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), formerly known as the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). One of these regional entities is the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), which is responsible for implementing the FG’s National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), whose objective is to improve electricity generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. Established in August 2005, the NDPHC manages NIPP projects across the region with the aid of funding through the Excess Crude Savings Account, which is shared by the federal, state and local governments. Since its inception, the NDPHC has been gradually but steadily fulfilling a key mandate by building and/or maintaining power plants and other related infrastructure in line with its 4-fold portfolio, as follows:

Generation Projects: The NDPHC maintains 10 flagship power plants across the Southern Nigeria, in the following locations – Alaoji (Abia State); Olorunsogo (Ogun State); Calabar (Cross River State); Omoku (Rivers State); Omotosho (Ondo State); Gbarain (Bayelsa State); Ihovbor (Edo State); Egbema (Imo State); and Ogorode (Delta State).
Transmission Projects: They include five transmission substations and lines, which carry out functions such as power evacuation, as well as grid expansion and enhancement;
Distribution Projects: These include substations, transformers and 33 kV and 11 kV lines;
Gas Assets: These consist, amongst other assets, of four petrol stations.
One of President Tinubu’s fondest desires as Head of Government – a desire which has informed much of his policy template since his days as Lagos State Governor – is to see the public-sector (as in, government and its MDAs) deploy business and governance practices similar to those routinely applied in the private sector. No wonder, then, that on August 19, 2024, he appointed a versatile and dynamic entrepreneur and administrator – in the person of Engineer Jennifer Adighije – as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NDPHC. A former Senior Special Assistant to the President on Entrepreneurship Development in Communications, Innovation and the Digital Economy, Adighije was tasked with bringing her training as an engineer, her business acumen as an entrepreneur and branding icon, and her reputation as a go-getter who forges ahead regardless of the enormity of the challenge ahead of her, to the table of decision-making at the helm of the NDPHC.

Since her assumption of office, Engr. Adighije has, by the consensus of the majority of critical stakeholders in the sector, made significant strides. Her tenure has focused on strategic leadership, human capital development and operational efficiency through a revamped organizational structure. Some of the key initiatives that have marked her tenure so far, and defined her stewardship, include extensive inspections of the aforementioned power plants and other assets to identify and address inefficiencies, her efforts in strengthening stakeholder engagement with local distribution companies, regulatory bodies, and government officials, as well as fostering partnerships for financing future projects. Adighije has also emphasized organizational enhancements by restructuring internal processes to improve project execution and staff productivity. Her commitment to enhancing the NDPHC’s role in Nigeria’s energy sector highlights a proactive approach to addressing the country’s energy challenges and setting the stage for impactful reforms is not in doubt. As part of her interventions in the larger sector, she has promoted the Eligible Customer Programme, aligning with the Tinubu administration’s overall energy goals.

At 41years of age, Jennifer Adighije projects a maturity and sense of judgment, both as an entrepreneur and an administrator, beyond her years. Born on April 15, 1983, she graduated from the University of Lagos with a B.Sc. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, then proceeded to the Queen Mary University of London where she bagged an M.Sc. in Wireless Networks and Telecommunications. On her return to Nigeria in 2006, she had a working spell at the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) as a transmission maintenance engineer before joining the telecommunications giant, Globacom as a Network Switching Subsystem (NSS) specialist. Other places at which she has worked include Helios Towers Nigeria., a telecommunication infrastructure company, as the head of operations and planning. Her time with Helios, however, ended on an unsavory note in 2010 after the company abruptly terminated her appointment. Adighije sued her former employer for unlawful dismissal, and won compensation to the reported tune of N13.5m. In 2018, she joined the Central Bank of Nigeria as a Value Engineer and Cost Controller in the Procurement Department until September 2023 – upon her aforementioned appointment as SSA to the current Nigerian President.

Apart from her expertise, experience, focus and never-say-die attitude in the face of challenges, another attribute the MD/CEO has brought to the service of the NDPHC has been her creative approach to the challenges as well as the opportunities the body has been presented with during her tenure – for which reason she has received several awards and recognitions over the years. She was named one of the 100 most influential women in Nigeria by the Nigerian Women Association, to name one example.

Another passion of hers is in the area of digital inclusion. A member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, she is a registered practitioner with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), and a patron of Digi-Tech Empowerment Foundation for Youths, where she dedicates her time and resources to fostering digital inclusion by bridging access gaps for digitally vulnerable youths.

In spite of her relatively scanty leadership experience in the nation’s power sector – compared to her predecessors as MD/CEO at the NDPHC – Adighije (who also prides herself as a team-player) has been able to foster a synergy that draws on the expertise and experience of the industry leaders that make up her management team, among them Engr. Abdullahi Kassim, Executive Director for Generation; Dr. Steven Andzenge, MON, Executive Director (Legal Services); Engr. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, Executive Director (Strategy & Commercial); Omololu Agoro, Executive Director, Finance & Accounts; The Rt. Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji, Executive Director, Corporate Services; and Engr. Bello Babayo Bello, Executive Director, Networks.

Upon taking over the reins at the NDPHC in February this year, Adighije had set out her task as follows: “My vision rests on three pillars: to optimize asset performance … to optimize our processes to ensure that we can drive organizational and operational efficiency, and … (most critically) to ensure that we leverage on technology and human capital to drive positive change in the organisation and with our external stakeholders. … Number 3 is very crucial to me because human capital is our greatest asset. Our human capital is the powerhouse … that makes positive change happen.”

In the months since she made that declaration, Engineer Jennifer Adighije has been as true as her word – and her organization has, from all indications, been the better for it.

• Keem Abdul, publisher and writer, hails from Lagos. He can be reached via +2348038795377 or Akeemabdul2023@gmail.com