The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) and the 9th National Assembly for unbundling the transmission and distribution of electricity supply, by enabling the 36 States in Nigeria to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in areas covered by national grid.
It could be recalled that in year 2021, ACCI through it Policy Advocacy Centre advocated for the unbundling of the transmission sector to enable the speedy growth and economic prosperity in a bid to get brighter homes. Agitating that, power generation still hovers just above 5,000 MW despite the 13,000MW installed capacity eight years after the sector was privatised.
The Policy Centre is responsible for the development of strategic framework for public policy advocacy, in order to fast track the economic and social development of the country.
It also contributes actively in the debate on the national economy and the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (NERGP) by identifying the role of critical stakeholders and constructively engaging them based on their assigned responsibilities.
Experts believed that, access to electricity, no doubt, is a catalyst for any nation in its drive for industrialisation. Thus, the importance of power to socio-economic development, creating myriad of opportunities for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to thrive, cannot be overemphasised.
A country like Nigeria, is where MSMEs constitute a large percentage of its economic activities, a more reason why the power sector need to be well positioned from generation to transmission and distribution.
Research showed that over the years, the Nigerian business community has struggled with epileptic power supply that has frustrated the ease of doing business and the cost of production. Thereby making it difficult for Nigerian goods to compete favourably with other countries.
In a recent development, the amendment bill that started in 2021 has birthed a constitutional amendment that allows states to distribute, transmit and generate electricity that expand national power generation capacity.
The bill was one of the 2023 fragmented 16 bills signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, with a sole aim of giving the intending investor the constitutional backing and guarantee of their investment.
Olayemi John-Mensah
ACCI Media/Strategy Officer
