Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, has stated that one way he would address Nigeria’s electricity problems is to give states the authority to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity.
Atiku stated in a statement on Thursday evening that if elected president in 2023, he would remove electricity production from the exclusive list and give it to states.
This comes as Nigerian electricity workers were forced to call off a strike that had nearly crippled power this week.
Atiku said, “Having keenly observed developments in the power sector within the last 24 hours, I am again convinced that my solution to the electricity crisis, as encapsulated in my Policy Document, My Covenant with Nigerians, remains the most proactive plan to lead Nigeria out of darkness.
“In this regard, my approach is to first remove the entire electricity value chain from the exclusive list and give states the power to generate, transmit and distribute electricity for themselves.”
He stated that an industrial dispute with the FG in Abuja should not affect an industry in Lagos or a factory in Aba or Kano or even an average Nigerian who just wants to get home, watch the news and sleep under a ceiling fan.
Read Also: How we foiled attack, killed many terrorists in Katsina Community ― Police
Atiku added that his policy would aim at achieving greater coordination of investments in the entire electricity value chain. He said investments in additional generation capacity are futile without consideration for the complementary transmission and distribution infrastructure to wheel the additional energy.
Any investment in additional generation capacity would be competitively procured considering a viable mix of renewable (hydro, solar, wind and biofuels) and non-renewable (coal, gas) options for energy security.
The Nigerian Senate earlier this year, removed the power generation, transmission and distribution from the exclusive legislative list in the ongoing constitutional review exercise.
The members of the upper legislative chamber passed a bill for an Act to alter the provisions of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to allow states to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in areas covered by the National Grid and for related matters.
