A coalition of civil rights groups in Afikpo/Edda Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State has warned political office holders and aspirants from the area to restore electricity to the constituency or risk losing support ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The groups directed their demand at key political figures from the constituency, including the member representing Afikpo/Edda in the House of Representatives, Iduma Igariwey, the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Patricia Obila, as well as members of the State Assembly and other aspirants from the zone.
The coalition—Afikpo Intelligentsia in the Diaspora (AID), RestoreAfikpoLight Campaigners Abroad, and Odinma Afikpo Group (OAG)—issued the warning while reacting to recent comments attributed to Igariwey that lawmakers are not responsible for funding electricity projects. The lawmaker had described criticisms over the prolonged blackout in his Ehugbo community as arising from public misunderstanding of legislative responsibilities.
Leaders of the groups, including Charles Otu, Olughu Franklin Nnamdi and Collins Alum Eze, argued that existing laws such as the Electricity Act 2023 and its 2025 amendment provide federal legislators with oversight and legislative tools to compel relevant agencies to address electricity supply challenges.
They expressed concern that Afikpo Local Government Area has remained without electricity for more than two decades, insisting that the lawmaker should have raised a Motion of Urgent Public Importance on the floor of the National Assembly to address the issue.
The coalition acknowledged that in 2020 Igariwey facilitated the appearance of officials of the Transmission Company of Nigeria before the House Committee on Power to address the prolonged outage affecting the constituency. However, they criticised what they described as the absence of follow-up action nearly six years after the hearing.
According to the groups, the lawmaker could also have pursued inclusion of the Amasiri–Afikpo transmission line as a specific budget item in the federal appropriation process and ensured its implementation through sustained legislative oversight.
They further stated that petitions could have been formally submitted to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Rural Electrification Agency to prioritise the constituency for intervention projects.
The coalition maintained that after 12 consecutive years in the National Assembly, constituents expected more visible legislative actions such as motions, committee engagements and budget advocacy to address the long-standing electricity crisis, rather than what they described as private appeals without measurable outcomes.