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The Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria (AMMON) has dismissed reports linking it to delays in the implementation of the World Bank-supported Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), insisting that its legal action is intended to uphold due process, enable promised stakeholder engagement and avoid (save) the country from executing a second International Competitive Bidding (ICB II) with same procurement strategy as ICB I which execution had not been successful nor completed.
Effectively, AMMON is working toward a successful procurement and not to frustrate the procurement of 1.55 million smart meters.
Reacting to reports describing its court action as the “biggest threat” to the implementation of the programme, AMMON described the characterization as “inaccurate, misleading and lacking proper context.”
According to the association, it remains fully committed to the objectives of the DISREP and supports genuine efforts to accelerate electricity metering, improve power distribution and strengthen Nigeria’s electricity sector.
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AMMON said its members have invested billions of naira in local manufacturing facilities, technology transfer, human capital development and quality assurance in line with the Federal Government’s local content policy and industrialisation agenda.
The association explained that the legal proceedings were instituted neither to obstruct the deployment of smart meters nor derail the World Bank-supported programme, but to seek judicial clarification and ensure that the procurement process complies with Nigerian laws, government policies and the principles of transparency, fairness and local content development.
AMMON further disclosed that a major reason for seeking an injunction was to support ongoing advocacy and engagement with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the Federal Ministry of Power over the inclusion of indigenous manufacturers in the procurement process.
According to the association, both the BPE and TCN had acknowledged its concerns and convened a stakeholders’ meeting to determine how local participation could be structured in recognition of Nigeria’s existing manufacturing capacity. The association noted that this assurance was communicated several weeks before the scheduled bid opening and reaffirmed only three days before the bid opening.
AMMON also disclosed that it had held constructive engagements with the Honourable Minister of Power and the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy. During these meetings, the association presented practical options for resolving the issues surrounding the procurement process while restoring public confidence in the metering programme. Both Honourable Ministers listened carefully to AMMON’s concerns, and supported deep discussions focused on developing solutions that would balance the objectives of the DISREP with the Federal Government’s industrialisation and local content aspirations.
The association argued that once bids were opened under the existing framework, there would have been no practical opportunity to incorporate local manufacturing capacity, effectively ceding a significant market opportunity to foreign suppliers.
“It was therefore prudent for AMMON to create an opening that would allow feedback from the stakeholders’ meeting and facilitate constructive engagement on the inclusion of local manufacturers,” the association said.
AMMON added that discussions with government stakeholders had also established that foreign suppliers would still depend heavily on Nigerian manufacturers and technical partners for installation, after-sales support and services requiring local expertise.
The association disclosed that constructive engagements are continuing at the highest levels of government to develop a home-grown implementation model that would combine internationally compliant STS smart metering technology with Nigeria’s existing manufacturing capacity and the long-term warranties, after-sales support and technical expertise available within the country.
AMMON further revealed that local manufacturers had proposed innovative financing arrangements under which metering projects could be funded through verifiable milestone-based payments. This approach would significantly reduce the need for external borrowing for meter procurement while allowing available foreign financing to be redirected towards critical power infrastructure projects, including transmission and other capital investments that would strengthen the electricity value chain.
A key issue that resonated during both the meetings with the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy and the Honourable Minister of Power was the shared recognition that Nigeria should not need to borrow to fund electricity metering when substantial indigenous manufacturing capacity already exists. Rather, borrowing should be strategically deployed for capital equipment and infrastructure that will expand productive capacity. The association maintained that procurement frameworks conceived at a time when Nigeria lacked a viable metering manufacturing industry should now be reviewed to reflect current realities and support domestic industrial capacity offering quality, cost efficient and international specification meters.
AMMON maintained that seeking judicial intervention should not be interpreted as opposition to national development.
“It is important to emphasize that the rule of law is a fundamental pillar of democratic governance. Resorting to the courts to resolve legitimate differences in strategy cannot reasonably be portrayed as an attack on national development or on donor-funded programmes,” the association stated.
It added that portraying the legal action otherwise undermines the constitutional right of stakeholders to seek judicial interpretation where they believe due process has not been followed.
The association further argued that Nigeria’s electricity metering industry represents one of the country’s local manufacturing success stories, with indigenous manufacturers possessing significant capacity to meet domestic demand while complying with internationally recognised quality standards. According to AMMON, any procurement arrangement that sidelines existing local manufacturing capacity could weaken investor confidence, diminish the benefits of technology transfer, innovation and backward integration, and undermine the Federal Government’s industrialisation objectives.
The association reaffirmed its commitment to constructive engagement with the Federal Government, the World Bank, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Bureau of Public Enterprices (BPE), electricity distribution companies and other stakeholders to ensure a lawful, transparent and sustainable metering programme.
AMMON also stressed that it is both beneficial and progressive to align the implementation of the DISREP with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Nigeria First policy, industrialisation agenda and local content objectives. The association noted that similar policies have successfully strengthened indigenous participation in the oil and gas sector through the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), and expressed confidence that the power sector can achieve comparable outcomes.
The association urged media organisations and commentators to avoid assigning blame for implementation challenges without presenting the full legal and policy context, stressing that matters before the court should be allowed to proceed without prejudice.
AMMON reiterated that sustainable reforms in Nigeria’s electricity sector must be anchored on due process, transparency, competitiveness and respect for Nigeria’s local content aspirations.
The association expressed confidence that an amicable resolution would be achieved—one that accelerates meter deployment while providing robust warranties and after-sales support, protects Nigerian investments, preserves and creates local jobs, strengthens domestic manufacturing capacity through innovation and backward integration, ensures full compliance with the law, and delivers lasting value to Nigeria’s electricity consumers and economy.
