In a move to end the blackouts that have long weighed on households,
businesses and industry, the Federal Government and Lagos State have
agreed to work in synergy to deliver stable, reliable electricity to the
Lagos corridor, as part of the 24/7 Energy Zones pilot approved by
President Bola Tinubu. The agreement followed a high-level technical
session at the Lagos House, Marina, between the Minister of Power,
Joseph Tegbe, and the leadership of the Ministry, and Governor Babajide
Sanwo-Olu of Lagos.
The 24/7 Energy Zones pilot will start in Lagos and extend to the
Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt corridors, giving it a path to
scale across Nigeria’s major commercial and industrial hubs.
Tegbe said the Ministry had engaged and secured commitments from the
distribution companies to offtake more power and deliver steady and
reliable electricity to customers along the Lagos corridor. He expressed
his readiness to work with Lagos on the four Ministerial priority areas
approved by the President: Grid Stabilization, Market Liquidity, Grid
Expansion, and Governance and Regulatory Harmonization.
In his remarks, Governor Sanwo-Olu commended the federal delegation for
its seriousness, noting that since coming on board as Minister, Tegbe
has shown the willingness and capacity to resolve lingering issues in
the sector. He said Lagos is equally committed and stressed the need to
work out pragmatic solutions to make the sector work for Nigerians, and
Lagosians in particular, creating a bankable, collaborative and
competitive electricity market in Lagos.
To move from commitment to delivery, the Minister announced the
constitution of a Joint Technical Committee to untangle knotty issues
and propose next steps. The committee is chaired by the Managing
Director of NISO and co-chaired by the Permanent Secretary of Lagos
State Ministry of Energy with members drawn from NERC, TCN, REA, LASERC,
LAISO and LSEA and Office of the Honourable Minister of Power. The
technical committee will report to a Steering Committee chaired by the
Governor and co-chaired by the Minister of Power, with the Special
Adviser to the President on Power, the Permanent Secretary of the
Federal Ministry of Power and the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy as
members.
Also present at the meeting were the Special Adviser to the President on
Power, Dr Lanre Babalola; the Permanent Secretary of the Federal
Ministry of Power, Alh Mahmuda Mamman; the Deputy Governor of Lagos
State, Dr Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat; the Lagos State Commissioner for
Energy, Mr Biodun Ogunleye; the Managing Directors of TCN, NISO and REA;
and other senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Power and the
Lagos State Government.
