By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
THE FEDERAL Government has reaffirmed its resolve to transform the power sector into a sustainable, bankable ecosystem essential for economic growth.
This came as it declared a total projected investment of $32.8billion for the Mission 300 Energy Compact, with $15.5billion expected from the private sector to electrify 300 million unserved Africans.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, made the announcement on Tuesday, 8 July 2025, at the Mission 300 Stakeholders Engagement in Abuja.
Speaking at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Adelabu emphasised that reforming the sector was pivotal to Nigeria’s developmental ambitions and called for coordinated partnerships among public institutions, private investors, civil society, and philanthropic actors.
He stressed the importance of collaboration, saying, “Mobilising this level of financing will demand innovation, coordination, and a shared commitment.”
He urged participants to develop actionable plans capable of delivering tangible impact by powering critical institutions such as hospitals, schools, industries, and households.
Adelabu listed core priorities in the Federal Government’s reform agenda: resolving market liquidity challenges, initiating regulatory reforms, and reducing the ₦4 trillion subsidy-related debt owed to power generation companies as of December 2024.
A cost-reflective tariff regime will be introduced alongside targeted subsidies to cushion the impact on vulnerable Nigerians.
He said plans are underway to recover idle generation capacity and expand Nigeria’s energy mix with cleaner and more affordable alternatives to ensure long-term energy security, including enhancing transmission infrastructure, improving grid stability, and minimising system collapses were also highlighted as urgent goals.
According to the Minister, the government is committed to strengthening grid management and distribution efficiency through programmes like the Presidential Metering Initiative and the World Bank-funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP).
He also noted that rural electrification and energy transition efforts were being intensified, particularly through renewable sources, to reach unserved and underserved populations.
A focus on human capital development via the Ministry’s training institute will support local content growth, reduce dependency on imports, and stimulate employment.
The Minister assured stakeholders of the unwavering commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to achieving universal energy access.
He praised the contributions of development partners including the World Bank Group, African Development Bank (AfDB), the Rockefeller Foundation, Sustainable Energy for All, and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) for backing the Mission 300 initiative aimed at electrifying 300 million people by 2030.
Adelabu recalled Nigeria’s formal commitment to Mission 300 at the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam earlier in January, where President Tinubu joined 11 other African leaders in endorsing the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration.
Nigeria’s National Energy Compact was presented at the summit with targets to increase electricity access from 4 percent to 9 percent annually and improve clean cooking access from 22 percent to 25 percent yearly.
Joining the Abuja engagement virtually from Brazil, the Minister of Finance, Chief Wale Edun, reaffirmed the economic significance of ongoing power sector reforms, noting they had already resulted in a 40 percent increase in power distribution during the first quarter of 2025.
Attendees included the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Geoffrey Nnaji, the President’s Special Adviser on Energy, senior World Bank officials, power sector agency heads, and representatives of global development partners.
