Rilwan Lanre Babalola Listenⓘ was appointed Nigerian Minister of Power on 17 December 2008 after a cabinet shuffle by President Umaru Yar'Adua.
[1] Babalola joined the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) in November 2001 as head of the Power Sector Team.
Under a program assisted by USAID and later the World Bank, he was responsible for reform measures including setting up the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, and unbundling the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
[4] In February 2009 Babalola suspended the Executive Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Ransome Owan, and six commissioners.
[10] He announced plans that included construction of additional gas-fired generation stations near the source of supply in the Niger Delta, reducing vulnerability to pipeline disruptions, and major projects to build transmission and distribution facilities to eliminate bottlenecks in the grid.