‘It will never work’ – Rufai Oseni blasts state electricity law

Arise News anchor, Rufai Oseni has criticized the law allowing states to generate their own electricity, stating it is impossible. During Arise Television’s Morning Show, Oseni argued that states lack the resources, funding, and infrastructure to generate and distribute power. He emphasized that electricity cannot be legislated, as it requires substantial funding, gas supply, generation plants, transmission infrastructure, and a distribution network, which most states currently do not possess.

Oseni questioned how many states can generate power, where the gas supply is, and where the money is for such projects. He pointed out that even the Federal Government, which has been in the power sector for over 40 years, is struggling to generate just 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts for over 200 million Nigerians, with frequent grid collapses.

Oseni expressed that many states cannot afford to pay workers' salaries and rely on the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocation, casting doubt on their ability to generate billions of dollars needed for power plant construction and transmission lines. He also noted that many Distribution Companies (DisCos) are already failing and cannot distribute the power generated by the Federal Government, suggesting that granting power to states would create 36 new problems.

Oseni urged the Federal Government to stop promising unattainable laws and focus instead on improving the national grid, gas supply to generating companies (GenCos), and transmission. He concluded that breaking electricity generation into 36 centers would be impossible, emphasizing that the issue cannot be resolved by law.