Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has said the country must invest at least $10 billion annually over the next 20 years to achieve a dependable electricity supply.
He made this known yesterday during the commissioning of a 2.5MW solar hybrid power plant at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna State.
READ ALSO: Presidency denies ministers’ dismissal, orders crackdown on fake news platform
Adelabu attributed Nigeria’s longstanding electricity crisis to decades of underinvestment, poor infrastructure maintenance, and failure to modernise the national transmission network.
He said the current administration, led by President Bola Tinubu, was taking critical steps to overhaul the sector and end erratic power supply nationwide.
“We’re addressing deep-rooted issues that have hindered progress in the power sector,” the minister noted.
“However, for any significant investment to make an impact, the foundational problems of the past must first be resolved.”
Highlighting recent reforms, Adelabu pointed to the enactment of the new Electricity Act as a game-changer.
He said the law allows greater participation by state and local governments, giving them the legal backing to engage in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution.
“Over 11 states have already taken advantage of the autonomy granted by the Act, with more expected to follow,” he explained.
“This decentralisation is essential to expanding access to power at the grassroots.”
READ ALSO: Tinubu to meet GenCos over N4trn power sector debt
Adelabu stressed that the accumulated infrastructure gap in the sector, built up over six decades, cannot be fixed overnight—but sustained investment and regulatory reforms will pave the way for long-term solutions.
