Experts advocate removal of power from exclusive list
Some energy experts have called for the amendment of the Electricity Reform Act to enable states generate power using areas in which they have a comparative advantage.
They observed that Nigeria was endowed with a lot of renewable sources of energy which remained untapped due to constitutional bottlenecks that make electricity generation an exclusive affair of the central government.
They made the observation at the 2nd National Colloquium convened by Engineer Zayyanu Tambari Yabo, a Sokoto-born Chemical Engineer.
They noted that the North is blessed with abundant solar which they can use to generate their electricity while there are places with hydro-power capacity and those that can generate power from natural liquid.
“So it is better that we decentralize power generation so that we can maximally tap from our abundant energy sources,” they averred.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Habibu Nuhu, noted that Nigeria was not using energy for productive and economic purposes, a reason why oil and gas contributed less than 2% of what the agricultural sector was contributing to the economy.
Nuhu who delivered a paper titled “The Role of Energy in National Development,” advised Nigerians to take key interest in public governance.
The colloquium which was chaired by Professor Omowumi Iledare with nine panel members, however recommended that citizen participation, especially youth and women in public governance could drive inclusive energy development and ensure shared prosperity.
They also recommended that public policy must emphasize on energy access and reducing energy poverty and increase per capita energy consumption.