NERC, NOA Seal Deal to Enlighten Nigerians on Working of Power Sector

Emmanuel Addeh

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) have signed an agreement to collaborate in the area of sensitisation of Nigerians on the working of the power sector.

Speaking at the event in Abuja, NERC’s Chairman, Sanusi Garba explained that the development had become important for consumers to know their rights and obligations in the sector.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU),  Garba said, was critical because the commission was mandated by the power sector law to protect consumers in the electricity industry.

Represented by the Commissioner, Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Mr. Dafe Akpeneye, the NERC Chairman stated that as a sector that is very technical, it is important that consumers understand how it is managed.

“Our sector requires a lot of sensitisation and we are meeting with NOA because we know that we cannot do the sensitisation on our own. We have a very large country with a population of over 200 million people in 774 local government areas.

Also speaking, the Director General of the NOA, Dr. Garba Abari, admitted that there is a huge trust gap in the sector which needs to be urgently bridged, adding that the issue of electricity has dominated national discourse despite the efforts the government has put in to address the problems.

In her intervention, the Commissioner, Consumers Affairs, NERC, Aisha Mahmud, said NERC had recently signed an MoU with the federal Competitions and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on resolving consumer complaints.