The Rural Electrification Agency has received approval to establish a renewable asset management company in Nigeria.
This initiative aims to sustain the agency’s electrification interventions and ensure the long-term viability of infrastructure.
This was disclosed by the Managing Director of REA, Mr. Abba Aliyu, on Monday at the signing of a collaborative agreement between the agency and eight Renewable Energy Service Companies in Abuja.
Aliyu confirmed that the new asset management company will be responsible for overseeing and maintaining major assets, including renewable energy infrastructure valued at nearly $500 million, already deployed to universities across Nigeria.
“This company will warehouse these assets and REA will leverage on the assets to raise close to N1 trillion, so that we will continue to intervene even if there is no availability of loans and grants. The country will be standing on its own to continue to drive electricity access and infrastructure in many years to come,” Aliyu stated.
Aliyu reiterated that the initiative will allow Nigeria to independently advance electricity access and infrastructure development for the long term.
He also assured that REA is committed to making the asset management company fully operational before the end of the year.
Aliyu also revealed that President Bola Tinubu has approved ₦100 billion for the REA to implement the National Public Sector Solarisation Project.
This strategic initiative aims to reduce the cost of governance by transitioning public institutions to solar energy, enhancing energy efficiency and sustainability in government operations.
“The analysis that we have seen of budget implementation shows that a number of public institutions spend a lot of money to buy diesel or to pay for electricity. To reduce the cost of governance, REA secured the project, which will start in the next few weeks,” he said.
He confirmed that discussions with the Japanese International Development Corporation to secure an additional $200 million in co-financing have reached an advanced stage.
The $200 million from the Japanese International Development Corporation will be merged with the existing $750 million Distributed Access through Renewable Energy (DARE) funding, bringing the total available financing to $950 million. This combined fund will significantly enhance Nigeria’s renewable energy expansion and improve electricity access nationwide.
“Three weeks ago, we were in Japan with the Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu. The discussions are almost concluded, and we expect the funds to be available soon,” Aliyu noted.
