Protest rocks N’Assembly over delayed NERC Chair confirmation 

Angry protesters stormed the National Assembly in Abuja on Tuesday, demanding the immediate confirmation of President Bola Tinubu’s nominee for the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Engr. Abdullahi Ramat.

Chanting solidarity songs and waving placards that read “President Tinubu Did Not Send Nominees to Be Harassed” and “Ramat Represents Reform in Power Sector,” the demonstrators accused the Senate of playing politics with a critical national appointment.

The protest followed the upper chamber’s decision last month to step down Ramat’s confirmation despite a positive recommendation from its Committee on Power, chaired by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.

Leader of the group, Ahmed I. Suleiman, told journalists that “vested interests” were behind the delay, claiming the process was being hijacked by political lobbyists bent on frustrating reform.

“We write as proud indigenes of Kano State to register our concern over the yet-to-be-concluded confirmation of our son, Engr. Abdullahi Ramat,” Suleiman said. “He has the credentials and experience, so it is deeply unsettling that his name was stepped down after clearance by the screening panel.”

He accused some senators of yielding to “false narratives and politically motivated petitions,” warning that the Senate was setting “a dangerous precedent where capable Nigerians are sacrificed on the altar of vendetta.”

The protest came just days after the Senate threatened to sue former Presidential aide Alwan Hassan for alleging that lawmakers received a $10 million bribe to stall Ramat’s confirmation.

Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu dismissed the allegation as “baseless,” insisting the decision to delay confirmation followed “public and private complaints” about Ramat’s suitability.

“Many nominees have been stepped down due to such public outcry,” Adaramodu said. “The case of Mr Ramat is not an exception.”

The Senate vowed to compel Hassan to substantiate his claims in court, stressing it would not be pressured into confirming any nominee “under a cloud of public concern.”

Ramat’s nomination remains suspended, even as public anger grows over worsening power supply and rising electricity tariffs nationwide.