Nigeria has reached historic threshold in clean energy solutions – Aliyu

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Dr. Abba Aliyu, has said that Nigeria has crossed a historic threshold that signals real industrial change.

Speaking after hosting the first Nigeria Renewable Energy Innovation Forum (NREIF) with the theme: ‘Implementing the Nigeria First Policy, the country imported more solar cells (110MW) than finished solar panels (82MW),’ Aliyu said the success recorded is more than a statistic, it’s structural.

According to Aliyu, this shows Nigeria is shifting from buying clean energy solutions to building them. “When we import finished panels, most of the value stays offshore. But when we import cells and assemble locally, 60–70% of the value is created here in frames, glass, backsheets, junction boxes, encapsulation, lamination, testing, logistics, and skilled labour. That’s how industries grow.

“And the momentum is clear, because between January and November 2025, Nigeria imported more solar cells for local manufacturing than in all previous years combined. This shift didn’t happen by accident.

“It reflects, the visionary leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, driving the Renewed Hope Agenda and its Nigeria First Policy, which places local content, domestic industry, and economic sovereignty at the centre of national development.

“The government’s bold economic reforms that are rebuilding investor confidence, the enduring interventions within the power sector coordinated under the leadership of the Minister of Power, and critically, the impact of the NREIF, Chaired by the Vice President, where REA facilitated off-take commitments and catalyzed nearly $500 million in manufacturing and supply chain deals.

“Taken together, these actions have created the strongest alignment Nigeria has seen in years, with clear policy direction, investor-ready reforms, institutional coordination, and a market finally responding to confidence, not chance.”

With this momentum, REA is not only powering communities, it is shaping a domestic clean-tech manufacturing base, securing sovereign energy value-chains and enabling $500m in localised supply deals.

REA is driving off-grid power access in Nigeria, with a huge gap remaining: rural access is low (around 26-33%), while urban access is high (84-89%). The REA implements projects like the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) using mini-grids and solar home systems, aiming to electrify millions in underserved areas, but faces challenges like financing and policy hurdles despite significant private sector interest in the $9.2 billion annual market opportunity for Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) in mini-grids and solar home systems.

The agency is actively expanding electricity access through private sector partnerships, focusing on off-grid renewable solutions (solar mini-grids and solar home systems) for millions in unserved areas, impacting households, MSMEs, and key institutions like universities, aiming for universal access by 2040.

Key projects include the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) and Energizing Economies Initiative (EEI), replacing diesel gensets and deploying significant solar capacity to boost economic activity and improve livelihoods.

In essence, the REA isn’t competing for market share but is working to create and expand the off-grid rural market, enabling private companies to deliver services where the national grid cannot.