REA calls for coordinated plan to widen Nigeria’s electricity access

The Rural Electrification Agency has called for closer coordination among government agencies, state governments, development partners and private operators to expand electricity access across Nigeria. REA managing director Abba Abubakar Aliyu made the appeal at the relaunch of the Off-Grid Stakeholder Coordination and Partnership Forum in Abuja. He said coordination was needed to prevent duplicated projects and ensure limited funding reached communities with the greatest need.

Aliyu said an analysis of the 2024 and 2025 federal budgets using artificial intelligence showed that several institutions were implementing electricity-related projects. He added that the REA had itself found projects under different programmes overlapping in some locations. He proposed a centralised data platform to help stakeholders identify existing projects, locate underserved areas and plan new interventions.

The need for such a system, he said, had grown as sector funding declined. Power Minister Joseph Tegbe, represented by Doyin Adelabu, said fragmentation caused duplicated work, missed investment opportunities and slower electricity delivery. He said the Federal Government was establishing a standing Off-Grid Coordination Secretariat to track commitments and risks and provide shared market information.

The secretariat is also expected to convene working groups and follow up on bottlenecks. Doris Uboh-Ogunkoya of the Rural Electrification Fund said coordination should be a continuous function rather than an activity limited to periodic meetings. The government said more than 7.5 million Nigerians had gained access through solar hybrid mini-grids and solar home systems.

A renewable-energy scale-up programme is targeting a further 17 million people and 465 megawatts of capacity.