Tackle power transmission crisis, S’South govs tell FG
Tackle power transmission crisis, S’South govs tell FG
Governors of the South-South states, under the auspices of the Bayelsa Rivers Akwa-Ibom Cross Rivers Edo and Delta Commission, on Tuesday, condemned the poor state of power supply in the country.
The governors, who met in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, lamented the poor electricity supply in the country, particularly in the region, and asked the Federal Government to tackle transmission challenges in the power sector.
According to a Tuesday statement, the meeting, hosted by Governor Douye Diri, had in attendance the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, the deputy governor of Delta State, Monday Onyeme, and his Akwa Ibom counterpart, Senator Akon Eyakenyi.
Rivers State governor, Sim Fubara, sent two representatives to the meeting.
The PUNCH reports that the House of Representatives, the Nigeria Labour Congress, body of lawyers, and students on Tuesday registered their disapproval of a new electricity tariff hike amid poor power supply.
The House called on the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to suspend forthwith the implementation of the new electricity tariff nationwide.
NERC recently mandated electricity distribution companies to charge Band A consumers based on an increased tariff.
In a communique read by Governor Obaseki, who is the chairman of the commission, the South-South governors noted that “the member-states had made huge investments in the power sector by successive governments of the region and called on the power companies operating in the region to work more closely with the state governments to ensure the operationalisation of the new Electricity Act of 2023.”
The Act signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari allows states to independently generate electricity.
The states called on the Federal Government to “embark on a comprehensive review of the power sector, particularly concerning transmission.”
While commending President Bola Tinubu for approving the construction of the coastal road from Lagos to Calabar, the commission called on the FG to expedite work on the East-West road.
It also stressed the need for member states to develop better regional interconnectivity through road, rail, water and air systems.
“It equally condemned the March 14 killing of 17 military officers at Okuama community in Delta State and expressed its condolences to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the military hierarchy and especially to the families of the slain officers while calling on the FG to set up a high-powered commission of inquiry to unearth what transpired to avoid such occurrences in future.
“The commission commended the Federal Government for the establishment of the National Agriculture Fund and looks forward to working with the agency to improve the economic development of the region, particularly in the area of agro entrepreneurship and food sufficiency,” the statement read.
It also commended the Bayelsa State government on its cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime to build a peace architecture to curb crimes and prevent violence in the state.