By Leonard Okachie
Rep. Sam Onuigbo, the South-East Representative, North East Development Commission’s (NEDC’s) Governing Board, has called on foreign and local investors to take advantage of the huge energy market in Nigeria.
A statement made available to newsmen in Umuahia,
said Onuigbo made the call at the Africa Climate Summit’s Parliamentarians Dialogue 2023.
The dialogue was held at the Kenyan Parliament in Nairobi, Kenya from Sept. 5 to Sept. 6.
Onuigbo, who spoke on “Upscaling Regional and Local Renewable Energy Deployment in Nigeria”,
urged investors to invest massively in renewable energy.
He said: “Over 40 per cent of Nigeria’s estimated 223 million population do not have access to electricity.
“With the country possessing abundant raw materials to generate renewable energy, all that is needed is the technology to service the ready-market,” he noted.
Onuigbo noted that with the landmark constitutional amendment by the 9th Assembly which removed electricity from the Exclusive List, and the enactment of the Electricity Act 2023, Nigeria had liberalised the electricity industry.
According to the former lawmaker, this has made the energy industry very attractive for investors.
He said that Section 142 of the Electricity Act 2023, established the Rural Electrification Fund, to achieve more equitable regional access to electricity.
This, he said, was to promote the implementation of mini-grid and off-grid renewable power systems for remote areas, unserved, underserved communities, and islands.
“The Act has liberalised the energy industry and now made it attractive, competitive, and decentralised.
“And the speed with which the President assented to the Electricity Act 2023 shows his commitment to revolutionalising the energy industry,” he said.
Onuigbo described Tinubu as a consummate democrat and transformative leader, who changed the infrastructural and economic outlook of Lagos State during his time as Governor.
He advised investors and their advisors not to repeat the mistake they made in the early 2000s when the country privatised its telecommunications sub-sector, but failed to take advantage of the huge market. (NAN)
