A major constitutional showdown is looming as 16 state electricity regulators have accused the National Assembly of attempting to illegally claw back devolved powers through a “shocking” amendment bill that could dismantle Nigeria’s fledgling electricity decentralisation.
In a blistering memorandum submitted to the Senate Committee on Power, the regulators warned that the proposed Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill 2026 would reverse the historic gains of the Electricity Act 2023 and the Fifth Constitutional Alteration which empowered states to generate, transmit, and distribute power within their borders.
The letter, dated May 26, 2026, and signed by regulators from Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, and Plateau, argues that the Bill proceeds from a “shocking miscomprehension” of constitutional law treating the National Assembly as the source of state legislative powers, rather than the Constitution itself.
“There is no legal framework for the NASS to ’empower’ state governments to make law by ordinary legislation,” the memorandum states, warning that the amendments would effectively reconsolidate federal control and sabotage investor confidence already built on the 2023 framework.
The regulators flagged 17 contentious provisions, including:
· Federal veto power over state grid-connected activities
· NERC retaining appellate jurisdiction over state regulators
· Federal control over tariff design and consumer protection within state markets
· Mandatory timelines and conditions for states transitioning to independent markets
They argued that the Bill’s true intention is to maintain the same centralised regime that “for 20 years, has not led to any significant increase in power availability” despite mounting federal debt.
The dispute centres on whether states derive their electricity authority directly from the Constitution or through delegation by the National Assembly a fundamental federalism question that could define Nigeria’s power sector for decades.
While states like Lagos, Enugu, and Edo have already begun implementing their own electricity laws and attracting investors, the proposed amendments threaten to upend those efforts.
Energy experts warn that the outcome of this battle will determine whether Nigeria deepens its experiment with decentralisation or retreats to a failed centralised model.
The Senate committee has yet to respond to the memorandum, but the regulators have made their position clear: any attempt to reverse devolution through ordinary legislation is unconstitutional and will be resisted.
