Lagos Signs Law To Provide 24-Hour Electricity

A law that will ensure regular supply of electricity and criminalse power theft in the state was among the seven bills Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos signed on Thursday.

The bills, described as enablers of the state’s vision to attain a 24-hour economy and global competitiveness, are the Lagos State Electric Power Reform Law, Amended Land Use Charge Law, School of Nursing Law, Cooperative College Law, Cancer Research Institute Law, Amended Customary Court Law and the Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Law.

The state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, said the development will advance the dividends of democracy to the people as the state government can now “intervene in major areas of the power value chain to the overall benefit of the people.”

The Attorney General said the signing of the Electric Power Reform Law implies the state is putting its balance sheet on the table and assuring investors that as they generate power, they will get paid.

It will also empower the state to be able to open up the gas market in Lagos for the attainment of 24-hour power supply,he said.

The law also criminalises power infraction and provides for jail terms as well as fines such that if electricity users tamper with electrical installations, “they are liable to be prosecuted,” Oluwo explained.

Speaking on the other laws, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan, said the signing of the laws aptly confirmed the commitment of governor Ambode to institutionalise and enshrine good governance.

“Among the bills is the Amended Customary Law which is very important because for a long time the Customary Court system in the Local Government has been shut down,” he said.

Bamigbetan noted the Yoruba Promotion Bill will, “for the first time make it normal” for people to be admitted into any of “our tertiary institutions with a credit in Yoruba language and Yoruba will now become a major requirement for you to engage in normal business communication in Lagos State.”