Vice-President Kashim Shettima has disclosed that Nigeria's energy transition journey under the administration of President Bola Tinubu ...
Vice-President Kashim Shettima has disclosed that Nigeria's energy transition journey under the administration of President Bola Tinubu is unlocking an investment opportunity of over $410 billion between now and 2060 to position the nation as the heartbeat of Africa's renewable energy revolution.
According to him, over $23 billion will be needed to expand energy access and connect the millions of Nigerians who still live in energy poverty.
Shettima, who stated this on Tuesday in Abuja while declaring open the inaugural Nigerian Renewable Energy Innovation Forum (NREIF) 2025, submitted that as the world sails fast towards net zero, Nigeria and Africa must not be left behind.
"We have too much at stake. We are blessed with the minerals that power clean technologies, and Nigeria brings to the table youth, ambition and untapped renewable potential.
"Let us seize this moment. Let us affirm that Nigeria is ready, ready to harness her resources, unlock her capital, and become the vibrant heartbeat of Africa's renewable energy revolution," he stressed.
Specifically, the vice-president said Nigeria's energy transition is targeting "an investment opportunity of over $410 billion between now and 2060," with over $23 billion needed "to expand energy access and connect the millions of Nigerians who still live in energy poverty".
"But beyond access lies our grander ambition, which is to deliver a power system capable of 277 gigawatts of total installed capacity by 2060. This ambition demands more than investment; it demands innovation, local capacity and commitment," he said.
Shettima assured investors, development partners and other stakeholders at the forum of President Tinubu's commitment to consolidating policy foundations that would lead to a renewable energy market that is self-sustaining.
"We are enhancing incentives for local manufacturing, streamlining regulatory frameworks, and deepening collaboration with state governments, investors and development partners to de-risk private capital and accelerate the emergence of a self-sustaining renewable energy market," the vice-president explained.
The 'Nigeria First' industrial strategy, he pointed out, demands that the future of Africa's renewable energy supply chains be anchored indigenously, just as he said: "From solar panel assembly lines in Lagos to battery recycling hubs along our industrial corridors, Nigeria must not only participate in this revolution but lead it."
To this effect, Shettima hinted at the Federal Ministry of Power's readiness to develop policies that would lay the foundation "for a more decentralised, competitive and inclusive electricity market".
He however noted that efforts to prioritise energy transition cannot succeed without the private sector, even as he called on development partners and original equipment manufacturers "to localise technologies, strengthen value chains, and invest in skills and knowledge transfer.
"We count on our state governments to champion renewable industrial clusters and serve as engines of green growth across the federation".
The vice-president urged participants at the maiden Nigerian Renewable Energy Innovation Forum 2025 to reach agreements, forge partnership and consolidate a national roadmap that would unfold the over $400 million investment in Nigeria's renewable energy manufacturing value chain into a reality.
His words: "I am pleased to announce that through the engagements facilitated under this Forum, more than $400 million in new investment commitments are being mobilised into Nigeria's renewable energy manufacturing value chain.
"These include solar panels, smart meters, battery storage, and recycling facilities. These investments are projected to create over 1,500 direct jobs across multiple states and reflect growing global confidence in Nigeria's clean energy industrialisation drive."
Earlier, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, said the Nigerian Renewable Energy Innovation Forum (NREIF) marks a new chapter in Nigeria's energy transformation pathway that highlights the role of innovative partnership in targeting significant amount of local solar energy production capacity.
On the Tinubu administration's efforts in the power sector, the minister said the Federal Government's multi-pronged approach is aimed at addressing Nigeria's structural challenges and unlocking private capital, all in the bid to transform the entire energy sector value chain.
Adelabu described the Integrated National Electricity policy as a comprehensive sector-wide policy framework that is aimed at strengthening gains recorded in the sector, including the decentralisation of the value chain.
On his part, the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Mallam Abba Aliyu, said the NREIF is a forum that connects policy and vision with research efforts, as well as accelerate Nigeria's aspirations to developing a sustainable green energy ecosystem.
He emphasized the point that Africa cannot be left behind in the global energy transition conversation, noting that the NREIF is Nigeria's bold and energetic step towards the actualisation of the country's goals in global energy transition.
Speaking in the same vein, the UN Deputy Secretary General, Ms. Amina Muhammed, who was represented by the United Nations Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohammed M. Malick Fall, said the gathering of stakeholders embodied the global ambition in the renewable energy sector, and provides a direction for Nigeria to harness its abundant natural renewable energy capacity and lead the continent as the engine of renewable energy solution.
She pledged the UN's commitment to collaborate with Nigeria on the journey to build a vibrant local energy sector and foster the aspiration of powering homes, schools and communities.
Also, the Dutch Ambassador to Nigeria, Bengt Van Loosdrecht, said his country remains Nigeria's reliable partner in the renewable energy sector, noting that the event represents a "milestone" in the partnership between both countries.
In the presence of the vice-president, the Governors of Jigawa, Bayelsa and Ogun States, and the management of REA, signed several multi-million memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with various private sector development partners, including the Dutch government, among others.
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