By Keem Abdul
The recent visit by Engineer Olubunmi Peters to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State is yet another major event trailing recent developments in Nigeria’s energy sector. As the governor revealed in his post on X and other social platforms, the discussions centred around improving power supply in Lagos, while promising to “keep engaging and pushing for real progress that Lagosians can see and feel”. The recent visit to the Lagos governor is one of such publicized official outings, since Transgrid Enerco, a company whose board Olubunmi Peters chairs, initiated the acquisition of controlling shares in Eko Electricity Distribution company earlier in January 2026. In the same month, Olubunmi Peters led the Eko Disco team on a visit to the Agbara District to inspect ongoing and future projects, according to a Facebook post by the distribution company.
As a country experiencing the decades-long issue of erratic power supply, where 200 million citizens must suffice with less than 4500MW of electricity, news surrounding electricity infrastructure and its commercial ecosystem will, of course, elicit public interest at any given time. The recent acquisition of Eko Electricity Distribution PLC by Engineer Olubunmi Peters’ Transgrid Enerco –an integrated energy investment platform — in the turn of the New Year 2026, is one of such resounding developments that has, once again, reignited conversions around Nigeria’s lingering energy malaise.
Who, then, is Engineer Olubunmi Peters – a figure not commonly featured in headlines pertaining to Nigeria and its complex political landscape, except within the realms of investment professionals, senior engineers, and blue-collar personnel within Nigeria’s civil service? With his most publicly acknowledged role being the Managing Director/CEO of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), a position he occupied from March 2006 to July 2009, Olubunmi Peters is, in fact, a highly regarded individual within the private sector and investment circles in both America and Nigeria, as well as in high-level governmental circles,where his expertise is valued, albeit with limited public visibility. Long before FERMA, Olubunmi Peters had etched his name in coveted quarters as a specialist in engineering economy with a heart for viable infrastructure development. Little wonder his name has been spotlighted yet again since 2009 in, probably, the most important Nigerian discourse –power—with the recent acquisition of controlling shares in Eko Electricity Distribution Company by Transgrid Enerco, where he sits on the board as chairman.
As a private sector stalwart and public servant with a staggering 40-year career in his portfolio, Olubunmi Peters can be said to know his onions well. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso, and completed a master’s degree program in Highway Engineering from California State University, Los Angeles, California, USA. Additionally, he sits on the board of several organizations such as Roads Nigeria PLC, and Prepaid Medicare Services Limited where he is the chairman. Olubunmi also chairs Covenant Securities and Asset Management Limited, and is a Member of the Board of Trustees of Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, among others.
Judging by his impressive resume, it’s little wonder Transgrid Enerco’s acquisition of a 60% controlling stake in Eko Disco in a landmark N360 billion deal has been met with unanimous public approval. Additionally, it is a rather interesting development coinciding with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s renewed effort to transform the energy sector and, hopefully, solve Nigeria’s energy crisis once for all, the most notable being his assent to a bill by the National Assembly that grants states, companies, and individuals the permission to generate, transmit, and distribute, further democratizing the energy sector.
With all the recorded milestones of the current administration, therefore, the major board change in Eko Disco cannot be ruled as coincidental. We might as well assume it’s one of the pieces in the giant puzzle of public-private sector partnerships towards improving electricity supply across Nigeria. Furthermore, that Engineer Olubunmi Peter, a proud platinum holder of America Express Credit Card since 1980 who has maintained perfect Credit Score history since 1975, is now in the big picture, much is expected by way of transformational and integrous leadership, to further sanitize electricity distribution.
Why should the news of Eko Disco acquisition concern the average Nigerian, especially electricity users within the Lagos district in question? For a start, a good percentage of Nigeria’s power problem is distribution. A January 2026 report states that of Nigeria’s installed capacity of 13,625 MW, only an average of 4,901 megawatts (MW) is available for distribution, suggesting that Nigerians enjoy just one-third of what’s obtainable in power supply. Furthermore, Lagos state, alone, consumes 26% of the total electricity from the national grid out of all the 36 states of Nigeria apart from the Federal Capital Territory. As the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, and its economic capital, it’s safe to say a win for Lagos is a win for all nationwide.
Beyond statistics, polices and good intentions, one inalienable variable in both public and corporate governance is leadership. Considering the concerted efforts at the legislative and executive arms of the Nigerian government to sanitize the power sector, nothing works unless there’s proof of the right leadership to steer affairs in the right direction towards implementing these policies and managing action parties effectively to advance the polity. Here’s why citizens are, understandably concerned with electing and selecting the right leaders in all spheres of the system – from government to corporation- ensuring a synergy of values and the required competence of leadership. While relatively little may be known by the general Lagos public about Engineer Olubunmi Peters, his recent assumption of chairmanship in Eko Disco puts the spotlight on him, in hopes that, at least, the Eko District enjoys uninterrupted power supply in the near future.
As developments unfold within Eko Disco and the district at large, consumers watch keenly to see how the personal principles imbibed by Engineer Olubunmi Peter, which have helped him to maintain a perfect American Express credit score since 1975, will translate into an equally disciplined and visionary chairing of Eko Disco in the long run.
- Keem Abdul, a public relations guru, publisher and writer, hails from Lagos. He can be reached via +2349046303816 or Akeemabdul2023@gmail.com
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