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The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has challenged the Energy Commission of Nigeria and the Rural Electrification Agency to deepen collaboration aimed at boosting local production of electricity components, cutting imports, and conserving foreign exchange.
Adelabu said the proposed synergy between the two agencies would hinge on coordinated research, robust data gathering, and shared planning frameworks, stressing that these were critical to delivering President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reform agenda in the power sector.
The move comes amid rising concerns over Nigeria’s heavy dependence on imported meters, turbines, transformers, and other critical power infrastructure, a situation that has continued to strain foreign exchange reserves and slow electricity expansion despite decades of reforms.
The minister spoke on Tuesday during a meeting with the management of the ECN in his office in Abuja, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by his media aide, Bolaji Tunji.
Nigeria’s power sector, which has undergone multiple reforms since privatisation in 2013, continues to face structural challenges, including weak infrastructure, poor data management, and limited local manufacturing capacity.
Although successive governments have rolled out programmes to expand access, most power equipment is still imported, exposing the sector to currency volatility and supply disruptions.
Adelabu said the Tinubu administration was determined to change that narrative by ensuring that key electricity components are increasingly produced within the country.
He said the President was keen on fixing the power sector as a foundation for broader economic growth, adding that manufacturing critical inputs locally would be a major milestone of the administration.
“The ECN and the REA need to synergise. They need to come together, share research, and build data that will help the sector in the local production of electricity components. We must do everything possible in this regard, as this will make Mr President happy that, in his time, we are manufacturing meters and other critical inputs for ourselves. Today, we are happy that our exports are growing higher than our imports, and we must encourage this and conserve our foreign exchange,” Adelabu said.
The minister also emphasised the need for data, saying that “the absence of data is a serious challenge to us as we cannot plan without data and you cannot get accurate information without data.” According to him, the ministry is planning to have a central data pool and informed the ECN to be part of the process.
Adelabu disclosed that the ministry was working towards establishing a central data pool that would capture inputs from all key stakeholders across the electricity value chain, including generation and distribution companies. He urged the ECN to be fully integrated into the process.
To improve coordination, the minister also directed that the ECN be incorporated into the Power Sector Working Group, which meets quarterly, noting that its research mandate was vital to sector-wide decision-making.
Although Nigeria’s power mix is dominated by gas-fired plants, Adelabu emphasised the untapped potential of hydropower, particularly small hydro projects. He said over 300 small dams scattered across the country could be harnessed to improve the electricity supply, provided local capacity was developed in turbine production.
In his response, the Director-General of the ECN, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, expressed the commission’s readiness to work closely with the Ministry of Power and other agencies to realise President Tinubu’s vision of using the power sector as a catalyst for economic turnaround.
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