Buhari reappoints NERC commissioners, 2 others to leave Monday

President Muhammadu Buhari has reappointed four commissioners at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and nominated two persons to join the board.

In a letter from the president dated January 27, 2022, which was read at the Senate by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday, President Buhari requested the confirmation of four commissioners of NERC. They are Dr Yusuf Ali (North Central), Engr Chidi Ike (South East), Mr Nathan Shatti (North East) and Mr Dafe Akpeneye (South South).

Daily Trust analysis shows that Mr Shatti is the Commissioner, Finance and Accounts at NERC; and Mr Akpeneye is the Commissioner, Legal, Licensing and Compliance. They are serving commissioners whose tenures end on Monday. They were inaugurated on February 7, 2017, along with other commissioners, Sanusi Garba (North West) and Musiliu Oseni (South West).

A chairman, Prof James Momoh, was appointed over a year after, and when he left on the ground of age in 2020, Buhari nominated Garba as chairman and Oseni as vice chairman, and Aisha Mahmud, an NERC staff, as Commissioner for North West to make it seven commissioners on the NERC board.

This will be the first time that commissioners are reappointed at NERC in its 17 years of operation, beginning from 2005.

Daily Trust further reports that the two new nominees will be replacing two commissioners who will exit the commission on Monday. Dr Ali will replace the current Commissioner, Planning, Research and Strategy, Moses Arigu (North Central), while Engr. Ike replaces Prof Frank Nwoye Okafor (South East) who remains Commissioner, Engineering, Performance and Monitoring till Monday.

With the nomination sent by Buhari on Wednesday, the provision of the EPSRA has been complied with.

The President of the Nigeria Consumer Protection Network (NCPN), Kunle Kola Olubiyo, said it was time Nigerians evaluated the performance of the commissioners whose tenure ended on Monday.

Mr Olubiyo said, “The next few days will be critical to what is next on the agenda for the power sector regulatory landscape.

“How well has the leadership of NERC fared in the subsector in terms of metering, customers’ rights, monitoring and enforcement of NERC regulations by the operators, electricity market liquidity and discipline in remittances?”