By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives on Tuesday commenced a sweeping investigative hearing into Nigeria’s renewable energy sector, targeting the domiciliation of green projects, foreign grants and investments, and the level of renewable energy adoption across Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Declaring the hearing open at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, PhD, GCON, described the exercise as a crucial parliamentary intervention aimed at strengthening accountability, energy security and sustainable development.
The Speaker was represented by the Deputy Leader of the House, Hon. Ibrahim Abdullahi Halims.
“This investigative hearing is a crucial parliamentary exercise vested with the authority of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly,” the Speaker said, urging MDA’s and stakeholders to see their participation as a patriotic duty rather than an adversarial process.
He noted that Nigeria’s persistent electricity challenges and the high cost of generator-powered businesses have continued to strain economic growth and living conditions, necessitating bold legislative action, including the enactment of the Electricity Act, 2023.
According to him, one of the key objectives of the Act is the deliberate integration of renewable energy into Nigeria’s energy mix as part of a holistic framework for power generation, transmission and distribution.
“There is a global quest for safer, sustainable and renewable energy due to the glaring impact of carbon emissions. Renewable energy is a sure way to go,” he said, adding that the 10th Assembly made history by establishing, for the first time, a standing Committee on Renewable Energy to drive oversight and policy direction in the sector.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Chairman of the Committee on Renewable Energy, Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, said the hearing was convened pursuant to three separate House resolutions mandating the committee to Investigate the domiciliation of green energy projects with inappropriate entities (HR.80/10/2025)
Examine foreign grants and government investments in the renewable energy sector from 2015 to date (HR.259/06/2024) Assess the utilization of renewable energy in MDAs (HR.221/12/2024).
Ogene disclosed that the probe into grants and investments, initially launched in June 2024, had been temporarily stalled due to what he described as “uncooperative tendencies” by some MDAs directly involved in investment, procurement and grant transactions in the sector.
He said the committee consolidated the three mandates to optimise time and resources, noting their inter-connectedness and importance to Nigeria’s socio-economic development.
Raising concerns over the recurring failure of solar-powered streetlights across the country, Ogene questioned the quality of procurement and project implementation.
“In many cities and rural areas, streetlights installed for public good go bad in less than six months. Why is this so? Do streetlights in Europe and other parts of the world suffer the same fate?” he asked.
