New law aims for stable supply, lower business costs, consumer protection, and rural electrification

By Felix Umande, Makurdi

Governor Hyacinth Alia’s signing of the Benue State Electricity Law, 2026 into law has set the legal framework for the state’s power generation, transmission, and distribution.

The state is now geared toward meeting its power needs and depending less on the national grid, towing the line of states like Abia, Imo, Edo and Lagos among others.

The Governor performed the signing ceremony on Monday at the Old Banquet Hall of Government House, Makurdi.

According to government officials, the legislation is designed to deliver multiple benefits to residents and the state’s economy:

The law creates the framework for local electricity generation, transmission, and distribution which will generally increase power supply. Officials expect this will lead to more reliable and stable power for homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals.

Stable electricity is projected to attract investors, encourage new industries and businesses, as well as create more employment opportunities for thousands of Benue residents, especially youths.

With better grid power, businesses will spend less on generators, fuel, and alternative sources. The government says this will lower production costs, increase profitability, and make locally made goods more competitive.

The law similarly provides mechanisms to enforce consumer rights. These include fair billing practices, improved service delivery, quicker resolution of complaints, and greater accountability from electricity providers.

Communities without electricity are expected to benefit from the new initiative. With Benue generating its power, officials are optimistic about improved healthcare delivery, education, agricultural processing, security, and overall better living standards statewide.

In summary, the administration says the Benue State Electricity Law, 2026 will help deliver more reliable electricity, stimulate economic development, protect consumers, create jobs, and improve quality of life. The government says it positions Benue for greater industrialization and sustainable growth.

The signing comes as states across Nigeria increasingly leverage powers granted them by the 2023 Electricity Act to generate, use and regulate their own power sources.

By Our Reporter

Nigeria has cancelled the remaining $717.7 million World Bank loan to boost the county’s power sector, ending a major electricity recovery programme earlier than planned as the country struggles to improve electricity supply and rising financial pressure in the sector.

The World Bank and Nigeria reportedly agreed to discontinue the funding arrangement after key reform targets failed.

The cancelled funds were part of the Power Sector Recovery Performance-Based Operation introduced to improve electricity supply, strengthen the finances of the sector and support reforms across the industry.

Initially approved in 2020 with about $752.5 million in funding, in 2023, the World Bank added another $763.5 million to deepen reforms and address long-standing problems in the sector. Combined, the programme was valued at about $1.52 billion.

However, the latest restructuring document showed that the additional financing struggled to meet major conditions required for disbursement. The World Bank said no further payments would be made under the programme after the cancellation of the undisbursed balance.

The bank also moved the project’s closing date from June 2027 to May 2026, effectively ending the operation ahead of schedule.

According to the report, Nigeria’s electricity sector still faces deep structural problems despite years of reforms and intervention funds. The bank identified weak distribution networks, transmission bottlenecks, poor revenue collection and mounting tariff shortfalls as some of the major issues affecting the sector.Nigerian debt analysis

The World Bank noted that the situation worsened after the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market in 2023, which caused a sharp depreciation of the naira and increased the cost of gas used for power generation.

It explained that over 70 per cent of electricity supplied to the national grid depends on gas priced in United States dollars. At the same time, electricity tariffs remained largely unchanged for most consumers, creating a wide gap between operating costs and revenues generated in the sector.

The report stated that tariff shortfalls rose from N140 billion in 2022 to about N1.9 trillion in both 2024 and 2025, putting fresh pressure on government finances.

The World Bank further disclosed that only about nine per cent of the additional financing package had been disbursed before the cancellation. It described the implementation progress under the programme as “Moderately Unsatisfactory.”

We recall Joe Ajaero, NLC president’s recent interview in which he said Nigeria’s electricity lacked the critical strategic planning and the infrastructure to buoy it for effective, steady and improved power supply.

He pointed out that no matter the funds been applied to it, there would be no good story would ever come from it without addressing the core variables.

By Our Reporter

Amidst declaring him a fugitive, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, has sentenced former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, to 75 years in prison for corruptly embezzling funds meant for the Mambilla and Zungeru hydroelectric power projects.

The trial judge on Wednesday found Mamman guilty on a 12-count charge and held that the prison terms would run consecutively, bringing the total sentence to 75 years.

Justice Omotosho further ordered that the jail term would begin from the day the convict is arrested.

The judge also directed all security agencies to arrest Mamman wherever he is found.

The court equally ordered that all monies and properties recovered from the former minister be forfeited to the Federal Government, while directing him to refund the outstanding balance from the alleged N22bn linked to the Mambilla and Zungeru hydroelectric power projects.

The case had lingered for years before the judge finally decided to sentence the alleged culprit in absentia.