The Federal Government and the National Assembly have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation between federal and state electricity regulators to ensure a seamless transition to Nigeria’s multi-tier electricity market.
The commitment was made at a workshop in Abuja on legal, policy and regulatory harmonisation between federal and state institutions following the decentralisation of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
Special Adviser to the President on Power and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power Sector Reset and Restoration, Rilwan Lanre Babalola, described electricity as the backbone of industrialisation, economic growth and job creation.
He urged regulators to view themselves as partners working towards one integrated Nigerian electricity market rather than institutions protecting separate jurisdictions.
Babalola noted that while the Electricity Act decentralises governance responsibilities, the country’s electricity networks and markets remain interconnected, making regulatory harmonisation essential for efficiency and stability.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, also pledged legislative support for a framework that allows federal and state regulators to perform complementary, rather than competing, roles.
He said the success of the reforms should be measured not by the number of states establishing electricity markets, but by the creation of a coherent, efficient and bankable national electricity market.
The workshop also featured the Minister of Power, Chief Joseph Tegbe, and the Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr Musiliu Oseni, who both stressed the importance of aligning regulatory and operational activities to support a stable and integrated Nigerian Electricity Market.