Agency to raise N1 trillion for rural electrification
Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) plans to set up a renewable asset management company to handle its mega assets, including its $500 million infrastructure in universities.
“This company will warehouse these assets and REA will leverage on the assets to raise close to N1 trillion so that we will continue to intervene even if there is no availability of loans and grants. The country will be standing on its own to continue to drive electricity access and infrastructure in many years to come.
“This is something we have started and we intend to make sure that it comes to reality before the end of the year,” the Managing Director of REA, Abba Aliyu, said at the signing of an agreement with nine Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCOs).
The companies involved in the deal include Ashipa Electric Ltd, De-Janees, Concepts Ltd, Fox Power Ltd, MBH Power Ltd, Okra Solar PTY Ltd, Oando Clean Energy, Sosal Renewable Energy Ltd and Welight Nigeria Ltd.
The Managing Director disclosed that Nigeria has so far secured $950 million funding for its Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up, DARES, programme.
He said the government had last year secured $750 million from the World Bank and another $200 million from the Japanese International Development Corporation, JICA, in February 2025.
He stated that the government has given a clear mandate to REA to make Nigeria the renewable energy hub in West Africa.
“For us to make Nigeria a renewable hub, there is a need for finance, there is a need for projects, there is a need for implementing vehicles, there is a need for an operational framework, and there is a need for the domestication of our value chain.
“First, when it comes to finance, it is on record that this government has signed the biggest public sector funded renewable project in the entire sub-Saharan Africa. The 750 million dollar DARES project has not only been signed, but the project has already started.
“We have started with the 14 inter-connected mini-grids that will not only create reliability for the under-served but also be the basis upon which we are going to scale up our intervention”, he stated.
He explained that to reduce that cost of governance, “we secured this 100 billion Naira (from the Federal Government) to solarize the public sector institutions. And that project will start in the next few weeks.
“We also have advanced discussion with the Japanese International Development Corporation for additional co-financing funding of 200 million dollars that will be added to the 750 million dollar DARES project, making the total funding for DARES to be 950 million dollars”.
“Three weeks ago, we were in Japan with the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu and that discussion is almost concluded, and that funding will be available,” he said.
On the agreement with RESCOs , Aliyu said “what we are doing today by signing this agreement with RESCOs is to ensure Nigerians have access to electricity.”
Speaking on behalf of other RESCOs, Ademola Ogunbanjo, the president of Oando Clean Energy said that the company would be rolling the first 600 megawatts in 2026.
“It will also be the first solar modular assembly plant with a recycling line on the African continent,” he said.
