Osun Commences Work on State Electricity Market Policy, Legislation

•State govt says no rift between executive, judiciary

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

The Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke has disclosed plans by his administration to develop a plan of action for the making of Osun State Electricity Market policy and legislation.

Speaking on the recent signing into law of a constitutional amendment empowering state governments to regulate electricity market within their boundaries, Adeleke in a statement yesterday, directed the setting up of a technical committee to prepare the state policy plan on the management of state power sector.

The governor noted that the committee was to come up with a detailed plan to create Osun State Electricity Market Policy and a draft Executive bill to be named Osun Electricity Act if signed into law.

The new policy would also include creation of Osun State Electricity Regulatory Commission to issue licences to private firms ready to engage in power production and regulate interface among operators within the power sector from the power generators, distributors and the consumers.

The planned policy would also facilitate private sector investment in the state electricity sector, encourage alternative energy sources from renewable to other green power sources, the statement noted.

Other part of the plan was to electrify Osun programmes to ensure all towns and villages in Osun are provided with power supply from mini-dams to other sources of energy.

Adeleke, who promised to inaugurate the committee soon also expressed the intention of his administration to seek the support of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on the state electricity market plans.

The Chief Executive informed the state that the Executive bills he would soon be submitting to the legislature include the Osun State Startup bill, the Osun State Climate Action Bill and the State Electricity Market Bill.

Meanwhile, Osun State Government yesterday described the comment made by an agent of the All Progressive Congress(APC) Mr. Yomi Aliu, as false alarm.

In a statement issued and signed by Mallam Olawale Rasheed, spokesperson to Osun State Governor noted that, “It is not surprising of Mr. Aliu to have cooked up a false story. It is customary of him the same way he did during the Osun governorship election petition.

“He had raised a fake alarm and unjustifiable insinuation that there was a serious security threat in the State. This nonetheless turned out to be unfounded.”

The statement added: “It is unfortunate that a supposed learned senior lawyer can go that low on the path of propaganda and unnecessary sensation without exercising any iota of decorum and dignity.

“For the sake of clarity, the present administration  enjoys a very warm and harmonious relationship with the Judiciary as against the pseudo acrimony being peddled by Mr Aliu. “

“Governor Adeleke is paying special attention to the welfare of judicial officers in the state as against the ridicule to which the past administration unleashed on the judges by irregular not payment of their arrears of allowances and by not attending to the pecuniary benefits of the retired judges.

“Members of the public need to be informed that there is no controversy on the processes of disengagement or otherwise even with respect to the old and new law on the retirement age for judges of superior courts. All insinuations in the hatchet job are false and figments of imagination of the propagandist. “