Bayelsa Has Not Had Electricity For 3 Months, Says Governor Diri
By Abdullahi Yusuf
Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State Says the state has been without electricity for more than three months, “and we are still counting.”
Diri said the situation resulted from criminals’ vandalization of the national grid supplying electricity to the state.
He made the disclosure while addressing participants at the opening of the 20th edition of the All Nigeria Editors’ Conference (ANEC) currently holding in Yenagoa, the state capital.
He told the Editors that the light they are seeing in the hotels and other areas in the state capital is not from the National Grid, but from power generators and other sources.
The Governor therefore hinted that his administration would leverage the Electricity Bill signed into law by President Bola Tinubu to establish an independent power source for the state using its own rich gas resources.
He commended the media for their role in deepening democracy in Nigeria.
He used the occasion to highlight his administration’s achievements and the environmental challenges facing the state, urging the media to project them in their reportage.
He said the Government and people of Bayelsa State are happy and proud to host the 20th edition of the NGE conference and wished the participants fruitful discussions and a happy stay in the state.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had in June 2023 assented to the electricity bill which authorizes states, companies and individuals to generate, transmit and distribute electricity.
The new electricity law repeals the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) which was signed by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005.
The new Act signed by President Tinubu consolidates all legislations dealing with the electricity supply industry to provide an omnibus and ideal institutional framework to guide the post-privatization phase of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry and encourage private sector investments in the industry.
