Nigeria Strengthens Energy Partnerships at TICAD 9 in Japan
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN – Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to forging stronger energy and infrastructure partnerships at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), held in Yokohama.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led the Nigerian delegation at the summit, which featured high-level engagements with Japanese investors and government stakeholders. He emphasised that Nigeria’s focus was not on symbolic agreements but on “strategic partnerships that deliver measurable results” in power, infrastructure and industrial transformation.
The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, used the platform to advance discussions with top Japanese companies, including Toshiba, Hitachi and Japan’s Transmission & Distribution Corporation, with talks centering on improving grid efficiency, transmission infrastructure and loss reduction.
These discussions build on Federal Executive Council’s recent approval of ₦19 billion counterpart funding to unlock a $238 million loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The facility will finance over 200km of high-voltage transmission lines, six new substations and multiple line bay extensions across the country.
Adelabu also announced progress on a $190 million renewable energy loan backed by JICA, targeting off-grid solar mini-grids and standalone systems in underserved rural communities. This initiative complements the World Bank-supported $750 million Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme, aimed at providing electricity to 17 million Nigerians.
Meanwhile, three new substations funded by JICA grants — located in Abuja (Apo), Nasarawa (Keffi) and Lagos (Apapa) — are set for commissioning, with the Lagos facility expected to directly enhance power supply to the busy Apapa Port and its industrial clusters.
Adelabu underscored the challenges of Nigeria’s energy landscape, where just over half of the population has access to electricity, much of it unreliable. He reaffirmed the government’s dual-track strategy of expanding grid coverage while accelerating off-grid solutions to rural communities.
Expressing gratitude to JICA and the Japanese government, the minister praised Japan’s long-standing role in Nigeria’s energy transition, citing not only financing but also capacity development through the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN).
