Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has emphasized the significance of electricity as an important driver of the country's economy and the necessity of deregulating the industry to enable effective subnational participation in energy distribution and management.
As such, he conveyed his administration's willingness to collaborate with the federal government to improve the infrastructures of the power sector and the supply of electricity in the state and the country in general.
This was disclosed by Governor Eno over the weekend during a courtesy call at Government House, the state capital of Uyo, with a combined delegation of the Senate Committee on Power and members of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
He urged that immediate action be taken to enhance the nation's power supply and stated that the state government was prepared and willing to work with the federal government to ensure that power generated from the Ibom Power Plant (IPP) is taken advantage of by the public.
He said: “I believe we can do better with our power system, but a lot has to do with the federal government. If the federal government gives us the leeway to do it and with a promise to refund, then we can begin to think of it. But we’ll like to work together because we need to get those permission to be able to link these things up, so that we won’t need to get into too much talk after the process. At the end of the day, it will be to the benefit of our people and then to Nigeria.
“Power is something that is dear to our heart; so, the work that you are doing needs to be encouraged because without power, we cannot really do anything and the economy cannot move forward.”
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, stated that they were in the state for a three-day retreat and expressed satisfaction with the decision to hold the retreat in Uyo rather than somewhere outside the country, as they had earlier planned.
