Deregulation calls mount in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria, March 1 (UPI) -- State officials in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria want the government to loosen its grip on the energy sector to spur development, leaders said.

Militant activity, political turmoil and concerns over the distribution of government funding for the Nigerian energy sector is causing concern among state and federal authorities.

Godswill Akpabio, the governor of the Niger Delta state of Akwa Ibom, told the Nigeria newspaper Next that Abuja needed to deregulate the power sector to give states the room needed to encourage investments.

"Unless transmission and distribution responsibilities are deregulated for other investors to come in, the poor electricity supply situation in the country would persist," he said.

He said the supply of electricity remains at near-crisis levels despite modest efforts to improve the situation. Abuja, he added, should give Nigerian state governments the licenses needed to distribute their own electricity.

Four states, the governor said, have approached the federal government to get approval to form a joint venture to manage electricity in the southern delta region.