The Incorporated Trustees of the Greater Mbaise Development Forum (GMDF) have filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking an order of mandamus to compel the Federal Government and its agencies to complete the long-abandoned Mbaise Transmission Power and Transmission Line Project in Imo State.
In the suit, GMDF named the Minister of Power, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and the Attorney-General of the Federation as defendants.
The group, made up of Mbaise elites within and outside Nigeria, argued that the project, which commenced in 2009 at Ibeku, Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area, was abandoned midway, leaving the people of Mbaise in “perennial darkness” while other parts of Imo State enjoy electricity supply.
According to court documents, large portions of farmland were acquired from locals for the project with the promise of improved power supply, but the community has since been left without access to both electricity and the seized land.
The GMDF disclosed that it had previously petitioned the National Assembly over what it described as “total neglect, extortion, and blackout” in Mbaise. During hearings in 2023 and 2024, the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions confirmed that the absence of a transmission station was the major cause of the blackout. TCN officials admitted to the problem, promising to revive the project, but no significant progress has been made since.
In affidavits deposed to by GMDF representatives, the group said it issued demand and pre-action notices in May 2025 to the Ministry of Power, TCN, and NERC, but the agencies “failed, refused, and neglected” to act.
The suit, supported by affidavits and legal submissions from the group’s counsel, Chief Malachy Nwaekpe and team, urged the court to compel the federal agencies to immediately complete the Ibeku transmission station and power line, stressing that the matter is of urgent public interest.
No date has yet been fixed for the hearing.
