Joseph Bakare
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday warned that estimated bills imposed on electricity consumers in the country by distribution companies remained unacceptable.
He also inaugurated the House ad-hoc Committee on Power Sector Reforms and charged it with the responsibility of undertaking a holistic review of the power sector in Nigeria, with a view to recommending appropriate legislative action to the House.
“Estimated billing remains a no, no for me and members of the House. However we need to do it, we have to do it,” he said.
Gbajabiamila said setting up the ad-hoc committee became necessary because of the resolve of the House to ensure a comprehensive review of all legislation relating to the power sector.
Noting that he was personally concerned about the myriad of challenges in the power sector, the speaker said: “Our nation has long struggled with the problem of fixing the power sector in Nigeria and getting it to work in the optimal interest of all our people. We have not succeeded, despite the best efforts of many.
“The consequences of that failure are evident in the many industries that have collapsed across the country. It is also apparent in the abysmally low productivity of existing industries due to the enormous cost of generating their power independently.
“The power sector is so integral to our national economic growth, to national security and even to social development that we cannot ever stop trying to get it right. It is for this reason that the House of Representatives on May 12, 2020, resolved to set up this ad-hoc committee to undertake a holistic review of the power sector in Nigeria and to recommend legislative action to the House of Representatives.’’
He said the ad-hoc committee, chaired by House Leader, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, must take steps to ensure that the House fulfilled its commitment of a comprehensive review of all legislation in the power sector.