Professor of Energy and Electricity Law at the University of Lagos, Yemi Oke, SAN, has warned that regulatory conflicts and overlapping responsibilities among electricity sector agencies could undermine the gains of Nigeria’s ongoing power sector reforms.
Oke, who spoke at the Magodo Associates Policy Dialogue Session on Sunday, said the Electricity Act 2023 had significantly liberalised the power sector by allowing states, private investors and other stakeholders to participate more actively in electricity generation, transmission and distribution. He, however, said the emergence of state electricity regulators had created the potential for conflicts with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, particularly where their respective jurisdictions were not clearly defined.
According to him, the constitutional and legislative changes allowing states to generate, transmit and distribute electricity within their territories represented a major shift from the previous system in which the Federal Government exercised dominant control over the sector. Oke cited the situation involving NERC and the Imo State Electricity Regulatory Commission, saying the Electricity Act 2023 did not clearly delineate federal and state regulatory jurisdictions in some operational areas.
He warned that competing statutory regimes and overlapping responsibilities among NERC, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency, NEMSA, and the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, could create regulatory uncertainty if their roles were not properly coordinated.
Earlier in his speech, Chairman of Magodo Associates, Surv. ‘Remi Aromiwura, FN/S, said the seminar series was part of the association’s contribution to national discourse and its efforts towards promoting a just and equitable society. Aromiwura said the association had continued to use its quarterly meetings to examine critical national issues and proffer ideas capable of contributing to national development.
While commending the ThinkTank Committee for organising the September seminar, he empohasized that the body will continue in its strides of championing discourses that will move the country forward, recalling that the association’s June 14, 2026 meeting featured a seminar on “Reawakening the Nigerian Conscience Against Corruption,” delivered by Prof. Babafemi Badejo, Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Anti-Corruption Committee.
He urged members to actively engage with the platforms and promote the activities and advocacy of Magodo Associates. Aromiwura said the association would assess the reach and impact of its activities at its December Annual General Meeting, AGM, with a view to strengthening its interventions in the coming year and establish a consistent direction for its future interventions on issues of national importance.
