The executive Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, yesterday urged the Federal Government to remove gas from the Exclusive Legislative List to enable states to generate electricity.
Soludo made this known during the Southeast Business Roundtable for the Light up Nigeria project.
It was held in Enugu by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) for its partners.
Soludo believes unbundling gas from the Exclusive List would help solve the problem in the power sector.
The event was to launch an initiative to ensure dedicated power supply to industrial clusters across the country, with Southeast as a major hub.
Soludo hailed the National Assembly and all who participated in removing electricity from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List.
This, he said, has given states the opportunity to create viable electricity markets.
The governor said: “Enough of the lamentations. Let’s move from lamentations to solutions now. That’s why we are here to come out with actionable solutions to solve the power problem in the Southeast and the country at large.
“Having electricity removed from the Exclusive Legislative List without gas doesn’t solve so much problem.
“The Federal Government still has a stranglehold on gas.
“So, the Federal Government should also unbundle gas from the exclusive legislative list like it did to electricity.”
Also yesterday, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma called for a comprehensive audit of the billions of dollars spent on power since 1999.
Speaking at the same event, he said: “In 1998, Nigeria was generating about 6000 megawatts of electricity.
“From 1999 to 2007, over $13 billion was spent by the Federal Government to boost power.
“In 2024, over 78 per cent of homes and industries in Nigeria do not have access to power.
“The impediment of power supply in the Southeast is also down to poor infrastructure.
“The people of Southeast are very hard working. But over 75 per cent of industries are shut in the Southeast due to lack of power.”
