Subsidy Savings: Governors and Nigeria’s Power Problems (4)

SOStainabilityWeekly

Edited by Oke Epia, E-mail: sostainability01@gmail.com  | WhatsApp: +234 8034000706

Trends and Threads

Kwara, Edo, Borno, Osun, Kebbi, and Anambra take the spotlight this week on this series. The debate on subsidy savings and governance at the sub-national level vis-à-vis the power sector is a significant discussion that affects the lives and living conditions of citizens, communities and households in the nooks and crannies of the country. How have the states translated the decentralisation of electricity from a wholly federal affair to a concurrent and collaborative service delivery? This is the central question raised by this page since the last four weeks, pointing attention to the delivery of Sustainable Development Goal 7 at the subnational level.

The Judicious use of public resources can help solve Nigeria’s power problems and unlock productivity for industries, small and medium-scale businesses, households, and individuals who require regular, affordable, and cleaner supply of electricity to power production.

This series uses key metrics including legal framework, regulatory readiness, and evidence of project pipelines to measure performance in the power sector. States that have been profiled are Abia, Ekiti, Kaduna, Taraba, Bayelsa, and Kogi. Others are Zamfara, Oyo, Cross River, Benue, Ebonyi, and Yobe. Last week, the focus was on Ogun, Niger, Enugu, Gombe, Delta, and Kano States. The graphical illustrations provide summary answers to the same questions for the six states under review this week.

This light-touch assessment precedes a more detailed reporting and documentation of power access, affordability, and clean energy in the states by SOStainability’s SDG7 industry report and success stories.