By Abubakar Yunusa
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, has disclosed that more than 85 million Nigerians, representing about 40 per cent of the country’s population, still lack reliable access to grid electricity.
This is also as the REA boss lamented Nigeria’s dependence on imported renewable energy equipment despite its abundant solar resources.
He disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during the signing of a Joint Development Agreement between the agency and Ecotech Development Nigeria Limited to establish a solar panel and battery assembly and manufacturing facility in Nigeria.
Aliyu described the agreement as a major milestone in Nigeria’s renewable energy drive, saying it marked the first time a Tier-1 Chinese renewable energy company had committed to setting up manufacturing and assembly operations in the country.
He said although the REA had extended electricity to millions of previously underserved Nigerians through initiatives such as the Rural Electrification Fund, the Nigerian Electrification Project and the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up Project, the challenge of inadequate grid access remained significant.
“Over 85 million Nigerians, close to 40 per cent of our population, still lack reliable access to grid electricity. REA exists to close that gap,” he said.
Speaking on the dependency on foreign countries for solar power, he noted that virtually every solar installation in the country relies on components manufactured abroad.
He said, “Every electrified community across Nigeria today tells the same quiet story. The panel on the rooftop was engineered abroad. The battery beneath it was assembled abroad. The inverter that ties it together was also manufactured outside the country.
“Nigeria supplied the roof, the need and the market, while someone else supplied the technology and equipment.”
According to him, the continued importation of solar equipment has deprived Nigeria of jobs, technical capacity and foreign exchange that could have been retained locally.
“Every dollar we spend importing solar modules is a dollar that could have been paid to Nigerian technicians or invested in Nigerian factories. We have been financing someone else’s industrial growth with our own electrification budget,” he added.
Aliyu explained that under the agreement, the REA, through its renewable asset management subsidiary, would facilitate the annual offtake of up to 200 megawatts of solar photovoltaic modules and 200 megawatt-hours of battery energy storage systems manufactured and assembled in Nigeria by Ecotech.
He clarified that the arrangement was a non-exclusive framework designed to promote local manufacturing and would not override existing public procurement regulations.
“This agreement is not a procurement mandate. Every transaction will still comply with our procurement rules and be judged on price, quality and reliability. We are not lowering the bar; we are widening who gets a fair opportunity to meet it,” he said.
Aliyu said local production of renewable energy equipment would reduce import dependence, shorten delivery timelines for developers, create jobs, retain foreign exchange and strengthen Nigeria’s technical capacity.
He added that the initiative aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s target of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030 through private sector-led industrialisation.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Managing Director of Ecotech Development Nigeria Limited, John Zhao, said the company would provide locally assembled solar panels, battery storage systems and hybrid inverters for residential, commercial and industrial applications.
Zhao said the company would also offer engineering design, system integration, installation and long-term maintenance services, adding that the investment would improve access to quality renewable energy technologies while supporting Nigeria’s energy transition and local industrial development.
Nigeria continues to grapple with a significant electricity access gap, with millions of households and businesses lacking reliable grid power.
To bridge the deficit, the Federal Government has increasingly promoted renewable energy through mini-grids and solar home systems, while encouraging local manufacturing of renewable energy equipment to reduce import dependence, create jobs and accelerate rural electrification.
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