The Federal Government, on Tuesday, called for more investments in the power sector to meet the huge electricity demand by Nigerians.
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who made the call while speaking in Abuja during the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s 4th seminar for judges pointed out that the power sector was in dire need of resources, stressing that the legal industry had been supported with resources.
According to Adelabu, the legal profession had achieved more success through reforms developed over time and supported with planned resources.
“If the Nigeria power sector had received the same consistent recoveries, supported by the required resources, we would have had a more desirable result in the Nigerian Supply Electricity Industry.
“This is what we actually desire in the electricity industry, whereby all levels of government including the private sector will be able to play a role in the industry, because the process of having uninterrupted power supply is actually not restricted to a single entity but requires the collective effort of all,” the minister stated.
Adelabu noted that the judiciary also contributed to attracting private investors into the power sector.
He said the power sector must be able to attract lenders, stressing that the addition of equity and loans are what would make the industry work because of the huge investment it requires.
In his remarks, the Chairman, NERC, Sanusi Garba, explained that the seminar was aimed to stimulate a discourse on emerging legal issues relating to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry and to appraise the judiciary of the recent changes in the regulatory landscape
“We will start the day with a presentation that may be described as Electricity 101 and this will be followed over the next two days by presentations on typical industry issues by very distinguished professors, lawyers, investors including the architects of the Electricity Act,” he stated.
The Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, Justice Salisu Garba, noted that judicial officers must not only understand the process and policies of government in the NESI, but also comprehend the context in which these policies were meant to be applied.
“Considering the statutory mandate of both the NERC and the National Judicial Institute, the theme of this seminar aligns perfectly with recent reforms and innovations emerging from the amended Constitution and the Electricity Act.
“Judicial officers must not only understand the process and policies of government in the NESI, but also comprehend the contexts in which these policies are meant to be applied
“Therefore, this workshop is tailored for capacity building of judicial officers on the evolving issues in the NESI,” he stated.