On Wednesday, the Rivers State House of Assembly held a public hearing on the Rivers State Electricity Market Bill, 2024, through the Committee on Power.
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A statement signed by Martin Wachukwu, Special Assistant on Media to the Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly and circulated to news outlets noted that the Rivers State Electricity Market Bill, 2024, which is “a bill for law to repeal the Rivers State Electricity and Gas Board Law CAP 50, Laws of Rivers State 1999, and to enact the Rivers State Market Law to provide for electricity supply, its power generation, transmission and distribution within Rivers State, and to establish the Rivers State Electricity Commission for the enforcement of consumers’ right and obligation and for connected purposes.”
Honourable Martin Chike Amaewhule opened the public hearing by stating that it is an essential part of the legislative process because it gives interested parties and the general public a forum to voice their opinions on bills like the Electricity Market. He claims that the bill aims to increase the availability of power in the state so that businesses can prosper and to entice individuals and companies to invest in the production, transmission, and distribution of electricity.
He emphasises that since power has been placed under the concurrent Legislative List, the state must have a legal framework that will appropriately direct the state and its citizens in making profitable investments in the power sector.
He restated the Tenth Rivers State House of Assembly’s commitment to passing high impact legislation that will benefit the state’s citizens. Prior to this, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, sponsored a bill that stressed the bill is in line with the new order.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Power, Hon. Frankline Nwabochi, had earlier stated during the opening remarks that electric power, which involves generation, transmission, and distribution, was the exclusive province of the Federal Government because the function was domiciled in the Exclusive Legislative list of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
Speaking about the bill on behalf of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Allwell Ihunda, Chairman of ALGON, emphasised its significance and called it a people-oriented measure.
He conveyed ALGON’s readiness to collaborate with the House in order to guarantee that the benefits of the law will be felt at the local level if it is passed.
