Senate President Godswill Akpabio has said lawmakers are not in the Senate to make money, but to make sacrifices for future generations.
Akpabio spoke during Wednesday plenary while contributing to a debate on the general principles of the bill for an Act to amend the Electricity Act, 2023.
The bill was sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA, Abia South).
The Senate President said, “People think we are here in the Senate to make money, not knowing that we are here to sacrifice for future generations.”
He added that without electricity, there will be no industrial growth in the country, stressing that everyone is looking forward to a total overhaul of the electricity sector.
Daily Trust reports that the bill, if amended, passed and signed into law would clarify ongoing transitional provisions for the transfer of intrastate electricity matters from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to state governments among others.
After scaling second reading on the floor of the Senate, Akpabio referred the bill to the Committee on Power for further legislative action. The committee is to report back to plenary in six weeks.
Earlier in his lead debate on the general principles of the bill, Senator Abaribe said, “the primary objective of this bill is to address critical issues that have emerged since the implementation of the EA, 2023.”
He said the bill specifically seeks to introduce provisions that will enhance policy and regulatory coordination between national and sub national governments to avoid legal disputes and inconsistencies among others.
