The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has called for a unified approach among FG agencies, states, partners and private operators to accelerate electricity access, warning against duplication and waste of scarce resources.
MD Abubakar Aliyu, at the relaunch of the Off-Grid Stakeholder Coordination and Partnership Forum in Abuja on Monday, said Artificial Intelligence analysis of the 2024/2025 FG budgets shows many agencies doing power projects, noting: “If we continue to work the way we currently do without bringing the states into this conversation and coordination, I can tell you that we will simply be planning to fail.”
Minister of Power, Chief Joseph Tegbe, represented by Chief of Staff Doyin Adelabu, said: “Fragmentation is the quiet tax every under-coordinated sector pays: in duplicated effort, missed investment opportunities, and slower delivery of power to the Nigerians who need it most,” adding FG will set up a standing Off-Grid Coordination Secretariat to track commitments and market intelligence.
REA Executive Director, Rural Electrification Fund, Doris Uboh-Ogunkoya, said coordination must be continuous, not periodic meetings, while Heinrich Böll Stiftung Nigeria representative Ikenna-Donald Ofoegbu urged shift from counting connections to productive use, financing and sustainability.
FG said over 7.5m Nigerians have gained access via 200+ solar hybrid mini-grids and 1.8m solar home systems, with the DARES programme targeting additional 17m people and 465MW, contributing to Mission 300 to connect 300m Africans by 2030.