Lawmakers at the Senate
By EMMANUEL KUJE, Abuja-
Forum of Commissioners of Power and Energy in Nigeria (FOCPEN) has vehemently rejected the Senate’s proposed Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill 2025, citing a lack of consultation and potential setbacks to the nation’s decentralized power framework.
In a statement issued in Makurdi, FOCPEN Chairman, Prince Eka Williams, Cross River State’s Commissioner of Power and Renewable Energy, and Secretary, Barr Omale Omale, Benue State’s Commissioner, voiced their concerns over the Senate’s move to amend the Electricity Act of 2023.
“We are shocked by the Senate’s deliberation to amend a law enacted just two years ago, which over 16 states have already adopted,” the commissioners stated.
They highlighted that the 2023 Act, a key achievement of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, followed the historic fifth amendment to the 1999 Constitution, empowering states to regulate their electricity markets.
“This legislative move threatens to unravel the progress made in decentralizing Nigeria’s electricity sector,” they added.
FOCPEN criticized the Senate for bypassing consultations with state governments, commissioners, and electricity regulatory bodies during the bill’s drafting.
“The absence of stakeholder engagement undermines cooperative federalism and risks reversing the gains of the 2023 Act,” the statement read.
The commissioners argued that the Act, still in its early implementation phase, does not require amendments at this stage.
The forum noted that more than 16 states have enacted their own electricity laws since 2023, operationalizing decentralized markets.
They warned that the proposed changes could disrupt these efforts and set the power sector back.
