The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has taken a significant step in advancing clean energy access for Nigeria’s underserved communities by signing a multi-stakeholder Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with four government agencies and 19 Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCOs). The signing ceremony, held in Abuja, aims to foster collaboration for “accelerating access to clean, reliable, and sustainable energy for unserved, underserved, and peri-urban communities across Nigeria.”
The REA’s new line of partnerships includes the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF), National Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), and the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF). According to the REA, these collaborations mark “a significant step towards driving innovation and expanding renewable energy solutions in key institutions in Nigeria.”
Highlighting the importance of coordinated efforts, REA’s Managing Director/CEO, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, underscored “the need for strategic coordination between the multiple players across the electricity value chain and a coordinated approach in the delivery of energy access projects.” He explained that “the REA has been tasked with the implementation of the National Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan (NESIP), which will serve as a pathway for data-driven, sector-specific, integrated electrification plan, hence the need for strategic partnerships with key players across sectors.”
The Comptroller General of Immigration, Kemi Nanna Nandap, welcomed the partnership, noting its alignment with NIS’s technology-driven security approach. She expressed, “It is an honour to activate the partnership with the REA as such a partnership now enables the NIS to scale its interventions on border management, border governance, and migration management.” Nandap emphasized that sustainable energy infrastructure “strengthens engagement with border communities situated in rural areas and solar streetlight technologies provide safety across the communities,” adding that this development “will be a game-changer for the NIS.”
NPTF Executive Secretary Mohammed Shaidu commended REA’s initiative, describing the impact on police operations: “The NPTF’s partnership with the REA will have a profound effect on the welfare and the operational readiness of the Nigeria Police as the utilization of renewable energy will not only reduce the dependence on traditional energy sources but will also provide sustainable and reliable power to the police personnel and enhance their capacity to serve and protect.” Shaidu assured that “the MoU between the REA and NPTF will serve as a framework for the planning, implementation, and monitoring of projects that will electrify key police facilities, as such projects align with the broader goal of promoting sustainability, energy security, and enhanced mobility for the police force.”
As the REA prepares to launch the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES), a $750 million electrification initiative, Olufemi Akinyelure, Head of the Nigeria Electrification Programme (NEP), explained, “The RESCO is a central pillar of REA’s off-grid electrification efforts, ensuring that unserved, underserved, and rural communities benefit from sustainable, affordable, and scalable renewable energy solutions.” While acknowledging the scope of DARES, he added, “the private sector needs to be able to catalyze funding, private financing, and private investment.”
REA’s Executive Director, Engr. Doris Udoh, emphasized the agency’s renewable energy scale-up strategy, stating, “The REA’s scale-up strategy is targeted at alleviating energy poverty both in rural, unserved areas and across key sectors such as education, healthcare, agriculture, and security.” She added that the agency “continues to keep up with technological advancements in the renewable energy sector as the Agency has sustained its strategic approach to sector coordination, investment, and project implementation.”
NADF Executive Secretary Muhammed Abu highlighted the agricultural benefits of renewable energy, describing how “solar-powered irrigation systems that allow all-year-round farming, solar-powered planters, threshers, and dryers” will enhance agricultural productivity. Abu emphasized that “renewable energy has the potential to significantly drive production in terms of quantity and quality of produce as post-harvest losses can be avoided.”
The REA and its partners are also focusing on capacity building, policy support, and fostering an enabling environment for private sector involvement, with a goal of attracting greater investment in Nigeria’s renewable energy landscape.
