Politics
Obong Victor Attah Accuses Obasanjo Of Blocking Power Distribution In Akwa Ibom
Obong Victor Attah, former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, has accused ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo of halting his efforts to distribute electricity generated by a power plant he built in the state.
Attah, who served as governor from 1999 to 2007 during Obasanjo’s presidency, revealed that despite the approval of the project by Obasanjo, the then president later imposed a law requiring that the electricity generated by the Akwa Ibom power plant be added to the national grid rather than being used to supply the state.
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Attah made the allegations during an appearance on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political program aired on Channels Television on Friday.
He criticized the existing constitutional framework, stating that a new constitution and federal arrangement would empower states to be more autonomous and less subordinate to the central government.
“I decided I want to give Akwa Ibom State power. The president said no. The Federal Government is providing power for the country. I said: ‘I want to give Akwa Ibom State power’ and then I succeeded in building that power station,” Attah recalled.
“The president came and I saw that he was happy about what I was doing. He commissioned the power station but went back to Abuja and brought a law that if you generate, you cannot distribute it.”
Attah lamented that despite using state funds to build the power station, he was barred from distributing the generated electricity within Akwa Ibom.
Instead, it had to be added to the national grid, which he described as inefficient and prone to frequent failures.
“I used Akwa Ibom money (to build the plant) but I cannot distribute power to Akwa Ibom people? I have to put it in the National Grid that is failing all the time. That was how that ended,” he said, expressing his frustration that Akwa Ibom, like many other states, still lacks 24-hour reliable power.
Attah further explained that his actions were not driven by political party lines, as he was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the time.
He noted that Obasanjo’s opposition was more about the structural flaws of Nigeria’s federal system, which he believes stifles progress.
“It does not say much about party politics; it says much about the constitution that we have — the non-federal constitution that we have,” Attah said.
“If we have a true federal constitution it would never have happened. I would have built my power station. Whatever party I belong to won’t have mattered. What is fundamentally wrong with us is the nature of the constitution that we have today — it is not a federal constitution and unless and until we go federal, we will not make progress.”
Reflecting on the persistent challenges of the power sector, Attah criticized Nigeria’s inefficient national grid and highlighted the missed opportunity for states to take charge of their own energy needs.
“We generate power and put it in the national grid – the inefficient national grid that is always collapsing…Every kobo that was spent was in Akwa Ibom money to build that power station but a faulty constitution and constitutional arrangement makes it possible for a president to say even this power station, I’m taking it from you and I’m putting it in the national grid.”
Attah also welcomed the recent amendment to the Electricity Act of 2023, which now allows states to generate, distribute, and regulate electricity.
He expressed confidence that the new law would enable Akwa Ibom to have its own power company that could meet the state’s energy needs.
“Now that the new law has been brought out, our governor (Umo Eno) is working very hard to make sure that we now have an Akwa Ibom power company that not only generate but distribute power to the people,” Attah said.
For decades, Nigeria has grappled with chronic power supply issues, which hinder economic productivity and development.
Despite efforts to privatize the sector, electricity generation, transmission, and distribution have remained plagued by policy inconsistency and insufficient investment.
In 2024, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved an increase in electricity prices, while the costs of petrol and diesel—common alternatives to power supply—have also surged, further exacerbating the challenges faced by consumers.
In a move to decentralize the electricity market, NERC granted licenses to several states, including Enugu, Ekiti, Ondo, Imo, Edo, Kogi, Oyo, and Lagos, to independently generate and distribute power.
Edo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kassim Afegbua, has accused the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, of showing “symptoms of desperation” over his promise to restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.
Afegbua made the remarks during an interview while reacting to Atiku’s position on the removal of petrol subsidy and the former vice president’s renewed call for government intervention in fuel pricing.
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According to him, Atiku, Peter Obi and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had all campaigned ahead of the 2023 presidential election on the need to remove fuel subsidy.
“Now, talking about fuel subsidy, I think the ADC candidate is showing symptoms of desperation,” Afegbua said.
He argued that Tinubu, after winning the 2023 election, implemented the removal of the petrol subsidy, adding that anyone seeking its return should be properly scrutinised because, in his view, the previous subsidy regime created opportunities for fraud and contributed to the decline of Nigeria’s refineries.
“Anybody who is planning to bring back subsidy, that person should be examined properly, because that person is trying to bring back subsidy scammers, saboteurs, and buccaneers who held down Nigeria for so long using subsidy and crippled our refineries,” he said.
Afegbua also alleged that the ADC was experiencing financial difficulties and suggested that this was influencing its campaign messaging.
“The ADC, as it were today, is undergoing some financial strain. So they are looking for every opportunity to rake in money and all of that,” he said.
The Edo commissioner, however, acknowledged that Nigerians were still facing the effects of high fuel and transportation costs, pointing to ongoing government interventions, including the planned commissioning of 50 CNG buses in Edo State.
He said the buses, expected to be commissioned on October 15, would be distributed across the three senatorial districts and would provide free transportation for passengers.
Recall that Atiku had on August 20, 2026, pledged to restore petrol subsidy if elected president in the 2027 election.
Speaking during a Facebook Live session, the ADC candidate questioned how the resources previously spent on subsidy had been utilised following its removal.
“I initially did not oppose the removal of the fuel subsidy. But now that it has been removed, where is the money? Where has the subsidy money gone?” Atiku asked.
He subsequently said: “If I win the presidential election, I will restore the subsidy. And anyone who stole Nigeria’s subsidy funds must return the money.”
On August 25, Atiku further reaffirmed that his position had not changed, saying, “When I said I would return to subsidy, I will!”
He later clarified that the proposed intervention would be targeted and focused on supporting domestic production rather than simply returning to the former import-subsidy model.
The Vice Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has stated clear terms and conditions on which he will quit the party, the presidential race and back its rival, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections.
The former Governor of Rivers State challenged Tinubu to bring the price of petrol down to ₦600 per litre and see him withdraw from the ADC ticket and campaign for the President in the 2027 election.
Amaechi made the challenge while reacting to Tinubu’s Independence Day address and the President’s declaration that Nigeria had entered an “age of prosperity” during an interview on Friday with Channels Television’s Politics Today.
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Questioning the believability of Tinubu’s claim, Amaechi said Nigerians should assess whether the economic reforms had translated into lower prices and improved living conditions.
“It is about believability; who do you believe? Go to the 2005 Presidential speech; it is the same: we have turned the page, and we are about to start enjoyment,” Amaechi said.
“Have you asked one of your staff who goes by transport, how much it costs from Yanya to Abuja? Has anything come down?
“Has any price come down, has anything changed?” he asked.
Using the price of petrol as a test of the government’s economic claims, Amaechi said he would personally visit a filling station to establish whether the product had fallen to ₦600 per litre.
“I will go tomorrow morning to the petrol station to buy fuel, I will go myself, if fuel has come down to 600, I will campaign for President Tinubu,” Amaechi said.
The former Minister for Transport, under late President Muhammadu Buhari also challenged those who doubted his pledge to accompany him with a camera, saying he would withdraw from the ticket he is contesting alongside former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and support Tinubu if petrol had fallen to the stated price.
“If you doubt me, come with your camera to my house, and I will go to the filling station and buy fuel, and I, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi will withdraw as a vice presidential candidate of Atiku and campaign for President Tinubu, if it has come down,” he declared.
The Lagos State governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Funso Doherty, has promised to make education, books and examination fees free across the state within his first 100 days in office if elected governor in 2027.
Doherty made the pledge on Thursday during a special town hall meeting hosted by The Platform, a thought leadership initiative of The Covenant Nation, in Lagos.
Speaking on his plans for his first 100 days in office, the governorship candidate said his administration would make education entirely free, including the provision of books and payment of examination fees.
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“We will also provide one nutritious meal for every kid in public school. We will also provide a programme by which kids who are in public schools are transported free to school if they need it,” Doherty said.
He explained that the measures were aimed at ensuring that no child is denied access to education.
“Because the children, given our demographics, are the hope of the future and will be the time bomb of the future,” he said.
Doherty also promised what he described as truly free healthcare, with particular attention to maternal and child healthcare.
On housing, the NDC candidate said his administration would adopt a large-scale approach to addressing the housing deficit in Lagos, rather than delivering only a few hundred housing units.
“Our commitment is to deliver about 150,000 units in our first term because a large part of the problem with housing is the fact that supply has not kept up with the demand,” he said.
The pledges form part of Doherty’s proposed agenda ahead of the 2027 Lagos State governorship election.
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