Contrary to the spirit of the latest Communiqué issued by Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), barring the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) from denigrating the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola on critical industry issues, the Association has reacted, saying their $1.4bn investment in the sector so far gives them the legal backing to air their views.
ANED Chief Executive Officer, Azu Obiaya in a statement, averred that the association and its activities are guaranteed by Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the right of association.
ANED further argued that “The Distribution Companies (DisCos) with their formation of, and membership of ANED, are exercising this right, not different from similar entities along the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) value chain, such as the Association of Power Generating Companies (APGC), Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) and National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), among others .”
NERC had recently observed barrage of government policy criticisms and warned that further media embarrassments on the person or office of the Minister will no more be tolerated.