Nigerian States Clash with National Assembly Over Proposed Electricity Act Amendments

A major legislative battle has emerged over the control of Nigeria’s power sector, as electricity regulators from 16 states have accused the National Assembly of attempting to reclaim powers previously decentralized to regional governments.

In a consolidated memorandum addressed to the Senate Committee on Power, the sub-national regulatory commissions and bureaus warned that the proposed Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill 2026 could derail the critical reforms established by the Electricity Act 2023. The 16 states—including Lagos, Oyo, Edo, Enugu, Abia, and Kaduna—argued that the amendment seeks to restore expansive federal oversight on matters that constitutionally belong to the states.

The dispute stems from differing interpretations of the Fifth Alteration to the 1999 Constitution, which successfully removed electricity from the Exclusive Legislative List and empowered states to generate, transmit, and distribute power within their borders. State regulators argue that the new bill operates on the incorrect assumption that state assemblies derive their power from the federal parliament rather than directly from the Constitution.

The state regulators identified 17 highly contentious provisions in the bill that could undermine regional authority. Among the chief areas of disagreement are provisions aimed at retaining total federal control over any activities linked to the national grid, limits on state participation in wholesale electricity transactions, and the expansion of the powers of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Furthermore, the memorandum criticized proposals that would give NERC final administrative appellate jurisdiction over state-level disputes, maintaining that federal and state regulatory bodies hold equal legal standing within their respective constitutional boundaries.

State representatives cautioned that altering the legal framework now introduces severe policy instability, potentially discouraging investors who have already committed resources to developing independent regional power grids. They noted that the proposed centralizing measures risk returning Nigeria to an outdated, underperforming regulatory model that failed to improve power availability over the past two decades.