You can fix electricity without FG - Shettima tells governors

Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged state governments to establish functional electricity markets and take greater responsibility for addressing local power challenges under the Electricity Act 2023. 

He spoke on Wednesday, October 21, at the opening of the National Stakeholders’ Workshop on the Act at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Hadejia, Shettima said Nigeria’s industrial ambitions depended on electricity reforms delivering reliable supply to businesses, homes and public institutions. He said the Act provided an opportunity for states to develop electricity markets reflecting their resources and economic needs.

“Electricity supply must become a shared responsibility, pursued with innovation and accountability across the federation. Our states must shed the habit of waiting for Abuja to provide every answer,” he said. Shettima highlighted solar energy opportunities in Sokoto, Borno and Katsina, gas resources in Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa, and hydroelectric potential in Niger and Kebbi.

He urged states to translate those resources into investments supporting agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare and education. The Vice President warned that legislation alone would not improve electricity supply and called on states yet to establish regulatory institutions to act promptly.

“They need to establish functional electricity regulatory bodies with technical competence and capacity,” he said. Shettima proposed a voluntary National Electricity Reform Peer Review and Implementation Framework involving the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Federal Ministry of Power, Nigeria Governors’ Forum and state regulators.

He said the framework would enable states to exchange experience and assess progress in market development, investment readiness, consumer protection and electricity access. Annual voluntary reviews, he added, could identify implementation challenges and facilitate technical assistance while respecting states’ constitutional powers. “No state needs to purchase with failure the knowledge another state has already acquired,” he said.

Shettima also stressed that public funding alone could not finance the sector’s transformation. He called for transparent licensing, predictable regulation, commercially viable markets, investment safeguards and credible dispute-resolution mechanisms to attract private capital and expertise.

The Vice President urged regulators to protect consumers from arbitrary billing, poor service and unfair commercial practices, while holding operators accountable. “The final verdict on this law will be delivered wherever a Nigerian reaches for a switch,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of Power Minister Joseph Tegbe, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mahmuda Mamman, said implementation would depend on states building credible institutions and financially sustainable markets. Nigeria Governors’ Forum Director-General, Dr Abdulateef Shittu, said work was under way on a standard tariff framework intended to balance consumer protection with investment.

Hauwa Yakubu, identified as the electricity commission’s Head of Compliance, said regulatory transfer orders had been issued to 17 states, with Akwa Ibom the latest. She said emerging state regulators were receiving support through technical engagement and training with their counterparts.

President Bola Tinubu signed the Electricity Act in June 2023, replacing the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005 and providing a framework for state-level electricity regulation alongside federal oversight of interstate activities. Akwa Ibom’s transfer order, dated August 18, 2026, set February 17, 2027, as the deadline for completing the transition to its state regulator.

The workshop took place against continuing financial and operational difficulties in the sector. Generation companies said in March that outstanding payments had reached approximately ₦6.8 trillion at the end of February. They also said national generation had remained around 4,000 megawatts for years, compared with installed capacity of approximately 14,000 megawatts.