FG’s 1.55m meter procurement gains momentum as manufacturers drop law suit

Nigeria’s drive to bridge its electricity metering gap has received a major boost following the Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria’s (AMMON) decision to withdraw its lawsuit against the federal government.

This move effectively removes a critical legal roadblock, clearing the way for the procurement of 1.55 million smart meters and various government metering intervention programmes, such as the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF 3), and the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), to move forward at full pace.

AMMON in April this year, had secured a court injunction, halting bidding for metering procurement programmes including the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF 3), and the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI).

However, the ministry of power, in a statement issued to journalists on Tuesday, announced the association’s decision to withdraw the lawsuit, stating that it was actioned through a notice of discontinuance filed at the Federal High Court in Kano after the intervention of Joseph Tegbe, minister of power, culminating in a high-level resolution meeting between AMMON and other government agencies.

The ministry disclosed that working with other government agencies, including the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), it has proffered a mutually agreeable solution that addressed local manufacturers’ concerns within the limits of local and international competitive procurement rules.

“The Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria (AMMON) has withdrawn its suit against the Federal Government, ending a dispute that had blocked the procurement of 1.55 million smart meters and clearing the way for the various government metering intervention programmes such as the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF 3) and the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) to move forward at full pace.

“This brings to an end a standoff that culminated in an injunction AMMON secured in April 2026, halting bidding on the various metering procurement programmes.

“The Minister of Power, working with other government agencies including the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), proffered a mutually agreeable solution that addressed local manufacturers’ concerns within the limits of local and international competitive procurement rules. The engagement produced the commitment that persuaded AMMON to withdraw its suit, allowing the programme’s stalled procurement to resume,” the statement read.

According to the Ministry, by resolving the dispute through dialogue rather than confrontation, Tegbe has kept faith with the ‘Nigeria First’ push for local industrial participation while safeguarding the financing Nigeria needs to close its electricity metering gap.

It added that closing Nigeria’s metering gap remains central to improving revenue collection for the distribution companies and ending the estimated billing that has long frustrated electricity consumers.

“The resolution is one of the sector interventions that reflects the Federal Ministry of Power’s broader push, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, to deliver reliable and affordable power through closer collaboration between government and stakeholders across the Nigerian power sector

“The outcome reflects the pragmatic, result-oriented style Tegbe has brought to the power sector, in line with the bold vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, whose Renewed Hope Agenda places industrial self-reliance and the rapid delivery of power sector reforms at the centre of its economic programme.”