The Rural Electrification Agency has provided electricity access to about eight million Nigerians under the Nigeria Electrification Project, with millions more set to benefit in the coming years.

According to REA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Abba Aliyu, the agency has not only met its targets but exceeded them. Aliyu stated that the government is making efforts to ensure 17.5 million Nigerians are out of energy poverty in the next three years.

“There are reports that many Nigerians don’t have access to electricity. But under the Nigeria Electrification Project, we have provided electricity to eight million Nigerians. We also have a programme that is targeting 17.5 million people. So, in three years 17.5 million people will also be out of darkness,” Aliyu assured.

This initiative is part of the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up project, a $750 million program funded by the World Bank, aiming to provide electricity access to over 17.5 million Nigerians through distributed renewable energy solutions.

The REA is building mini-grids in various communities, especially in areas far from the national grid. Eight universities have been electrified with solar grids, and the agency plans to deploy 42 interconnected mini-grids, six of which have been completed in Osun, Plateau, Cross River, and Niger State.

“We are currently working on deploying 42 interconnected mini-grids, and six have already been completed,” Aliyu explained.

The agency’s approach is private-sector driven, with capital grants used to incentivize operators. “We are moving away from the traditional concept of government issuing contracts. What we are doing is incentivising the private sector to deploy infrastructure. This ensures sustainability because they have their own money at stake,” Aliyu stated.

He also emphasized that the agency’s model guarantees reliability, saying, “It is a myth to continuously think that government infrastructure is deployed and not working. The projects we are deploying, more especially those under the private sector, are working.”

Aliyu referenced international partnerships, including a $190 million co-financing agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency for the distributed access program, which will provide electricity to an additional 1.83 million Nigerians.

Nigeria is also building its own solar manufacturing capacity, with the country’s solar assembly capacity increasing from 120 megawatts to over 600 megawatts.

“Before this administration, the country only had 120 megawatts of solar assembly capacity. Today, we have over 600 megawatts, and with new projects signed, Nigeria will soon hit close to three gigawatts. This shows that dependence on imported panels is being reversed,” Aliyu declared.