2027: No Electricity, No Votes, Afikpo Coalition Warns Politicians

A coalition of civil rights groups in Afikpo/Edda Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State has warned politicians seeking elective positions in the 2027 general elections not to campaign in the area unless electricity is restored, declaring that it would be “no electricity, no votes.”

The groups – Afikpo Intelligentsia in the Diaspora (AID), #RestoreAfikpoLight Campaigners Abroad, and Odinma Afikpo Group (OAG) – issued the warning while reacting to a recent statement credited to the lawmaker representing the constituency, Chief Iduma Igariwey, who had argued that funding constituency projects rests with the Federal Government, not individual legislators.

The coalition in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP Sunday urged all aspirants for the House of Representatives seat, including the incumbent Igariwey, Ebonyi State deputy governor, Princess Patricia Obila, members of the State House of Assembly from the area, and other political hopefuls, to prioritise the restoration of power supply to Afikpo before seeking votes.

Leaders of the groups, Charles Otu (OAG), Olughu Franklin Nnamdi (AID), and Collins Alum Eze (#RestoreAfikpoLight Campaigners Abroad) said the prolonged blackout in Afikpo, which has lasted over two decades, was unacceptable and demanded urgent action.

According to them, while lawmakers may not directly generate electricity, existing laws, including the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electricity Act 2023, and the Electricity Act (Amendment) 2025, provide them with sufficient tools to drive action from relevant agencies.

“For us, as concerned groups worried by the over 20 years lack of electricity in Afikpo LGA, one of such ways we believe our lawmaker ought to have addressed this pressing issue is by moving a Motion of Urgent Public Importance on the floor of the House of Representatives and forcing a debate,” the coalition said.

They noted that such a move, especially given Igariwey’s position as co-chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, could have yielded significant results.

The groups recalled that Igariwey had in 2020 summoned the leadership of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to a public hearing before the House Committee on Power, where he expressed the frustrations of his constituents over the prolonged blackout.

However, they expressed disappointment that nearly six years after the intervention, there had been no visible follow-up or resolution of the electricity crisis.

“We were thoroughly disappointed that nearly six years after the 2020 summon of TCN, no words have come from the lawmaker regarding a follow-up on the darkness that has become a deeply growing concern among his constituents,” the statement said.

The coalition further argued that since 2015, the lawmaker ought to have ensured the inclusion of the Amasiri-Afikpo transmission line as a line item in the national budget and followed through until funds were released and the project executed.

They also suggested that formal petitions could have been filed to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to prioritise Afikpo.

While acknowledging that Igariwey had executed road and water projects and undertaken some empowerment initiatives in the constituency, they insisted that those efforts were insufficient in addressing the critical electricity challenge.

They cited the example of another federal lawmaker, Hon. Akarachi Amadi of Mbaitoli/Ikeduru Federal Constituency in Imo State, who recently distributed 67 transformers to communities as part of an empowerment initiative aimed at improving power supply.

The coalition maintained that Afikpo and Edda, described as highly urban areas with a large population of educated elites, deserved more proactive representation on such a critical issue.