The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, says the proposed amendments to the State Electric Power Sector Reform Law are to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks.
Obasa, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni disclosed this on Thursday, at a Public Hearing on `A Bill for a law to amend the Lagos State Electric Power Sector Reform Law.’
He said that there was the need to address the challenges of electricity, as almost all the industries at Oba Akran Avenue in Ikeja had gone, due to high cost of production.
Obasa explained that the amendment was to make the law more elegant, potent, and to free the energy from bureaucratic bottlenecks, so that the Board does not have to rely on Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
The speaker said if the attempt by the Bola Tinubu-led administration to produce 500 megawatts of electricity in 2001 for the State had succeeded, the state would have attained sufficiency in energy production.
In his overview of the bill, Chairman, House Committee on Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Folajimi Mohammed, disclosed that Section 3 (2) is to be deleted and a new subsection (2) introduced to replace it.
“The Agencies and Boards under the Ministry are independent of the Ministry and they shall include, but not limited to the (a) IBILE Oil and Gas Corporation and (b) Lagos State Electricity Board,” he said.
Mohammed said section 23(1) and (2) of the Principal Law are deleted.
A new section 23 is replaced to read:`For the purpose of the Embedded Power Scheme, any Ministry, Department or Agency of the State may provide indemnities to the Embedded Power Provider and Feed stock Merchant subject to the approval of the House.’
Speaking with newsmen after the stakeholders meeting, Mohammed said: “The essence is to make sure there are no bureaucracies in respect to how MDAs under the power ministry function.
“It is our bid to allow for the independence, to certain extent, for the MDAs to function without having several recourses to the Ministry supervising them.’’
He said that though electricity was the sole responsibility of the Federal Government, the state had written a letter of power exemption to the FG.
Mohammed said that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had given the state government a letter of no objection.
“What we have decided to adopt is the embedded power scheme system which will generate different ports at different times within the same Megawatt that have been allowed,’’ Mohammed said.
In his submission, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Mr Bade Adebowale cautioned that the amendments to sections 2, 3 and 4 which took away the supervisory roles of the ministry should be looked into.
Adebowale also said that section 17 sought to arrogate too much powers to the Electricity Board, adding that section 23 (1) and (3) also seeks to take away the power of ministry of Finance.’’
He suggested that the section 27 (5), which gave power of the rate to Fund Management Company subject to the approval of the House, should be left with the Governor.
Adebowale urged the House to concentrate on oversight function.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mrs Funmilayo Balogun, said that section 23 sought to take away the power of the ministry, as regard indemnities, and give it to the MDAs.
According to her, indemnities provide penalties on losses or damages incurred, arguing that it would be difficult to decentralise the function.
Balogun advised that approval for indemnities should come from her ministry since it is the Finance Ministry that controls the state finances.
Other stakeholders who spoke at the meeting complained about membership and qualification for membership of the board.===NAN
