Minister: We’re partnering World Bank to make electricity available to 50m Nigerians

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, says the Federal Government was collaborating with the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to make electricity available to 50 million Nigerians by 2030.

Adelabu said the federal government was working with the World Bank and the AfDB to make 300 million Africans have access to electricity by 2030.

The minister was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Strategic Communication and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji, on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.

He stated that the ministry was also collaborating with its finance counterpart to get this process achieved.

“The mission is being driven by the World Bank and the African Development Bank and it is a project that will provide electricity to 300 million Africans and Nigeria will benefit 50 million from this,” Adelabu said.

Adelabu noted that the compact document would be signed by President Bola  Tinubu in Tanzania in January 2025.

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The minister said his ministry worked extensively with the World Bank, the AfDB, and the Ministry of Finance to develop the document with all the countries that would be participating in it.

He added: “The most important thing is that we have to drive the process by ourselves through the private and public sector participation.

“We will do it through the solar form system, mini and micro grid, grid extension, and connection.

“The reality is that it is not actually feasible, based on the resources. We have to extend the grid to all Nigerians, first, from the funding point of view and secondly, it may not be commercially viable to begin to talk of grid extension to those parts that are not viable.

“But that does not mean that we shall not deliver electricity to them, it is their right and part of the dividends of democracy.”

Adelabu disclosed that the federal government would start with the home solar system in those areas where the grid may not work.

The Star