Lawmakers flay gaps in power sector, urge passage of electricity Act

The Lagos State House of Assembly has lamented palpable irregularities in the power sector, urging the National Assembly to expedite action on passage of Electricity Reform Act 2018.

Speaking at plenary yesterday, the lawmakers bemoaned the Electricity Power Reform Act 2018 that criminalised estimated billing system.

They therefore, urged Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, to direct Eko and Ikeja Distribution Companies (DisCos) to phase out metering system and provide pre-paid meters to Lagos residents.

The lawmakers frowned on a situation where Eko and Ikeja DisCos remove transformers from areas over non-payment of electricity bills.

Specifically, representative of Kosofe Constituency 2, Tunde Braimoh, charged the National Assembly to amend schedule two of the nation’s constitution to allow states and local governments generate electricity.

Responding, Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, urged the Federal Government to allow states and local governments to generate electricity in the state.

Obasa added that concentrating electricity generation on the Federal Government, when there are no resources to do so, was wrong.

He directed Clerk of the House, Azeez Sanni, to write the National Assembly and Fashola on the House’ resolution on the matter.

Speaking, representative of Alimosho 1, Bisi Yussuf, stated that crisis over electricity issue was a daily occurrence in Lagos and that it usually leads to violence between officials of DisCos and consumers.

Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu 1), said the issues started when DisCos took over, adding: “What is generated cannot be transmitted because we don’t have facilities for transmission.”

Meanwhile, the Kwara State House of Assembly has ordered Director General, Bureau of Kwara Public Private Partnership (KP3), Yomi Ogunsola and its Head of Finance, to appear before the legislators at 10am today.

It summoned the officers on a ‘matter of general public importance’ raised yesterday by representative of Oke-Ogun Constituency, Kamal Fagbemi, on alleged failure of the affected officers to appear before its Public Accounts Committee to defend the state Auditor General’s audit query.

Speaker of the House, Dr. Ali Ahmad, while reading the resolutions said, “Their failure to appear before the House at 10am today, will compel us to invoke further constitutional powers to make them comply.”