Mohammed Shosanya
The House of Representatives Committee on Renewable Energy has summoned stakeholders to an investigative public hearing concerning the utilization of $2 billion in renewable energy grants and investments.
The House has fixed a two-day public hearing for Tuesday, November 5, and Wednesday, November 6, 2024.
The hearing is to examine the effectiveness of these investments and assess barriers hindering impactful outcomes in the sector.
The hearing, organized by the designated House Committee, is in line with a mandate issued on June 6, 2024, to investigate Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) involved in investment, procurement, and grant management in Nigeria’s renewable energy sector.
The investigation is to also assess the effectiveness and transparency of the MDAs’ handling of resources intended to support renewable energy development across the country.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, by Hon. Victor Afam Ogene, the Chairman of the Committee,said these funds, allocated for the advancement of Nigeria’s renewable energy sector, have yet to yield significant progress in addressing the country’s energy security challenges.
He announced that the probe into renewable energy investments would span the period from 2015 to 2024.
He expressed the House’s concern over the lack of visible progress in Nigeria’s renewable energy sector,despite government efforts to attract over $2 billion in investments over the past decade.
Hon. Ogene,who cited a 2023 report by the Rural Electrification Agency,noted that these substantial investments have yet to translate into noticeable improvements in renewable energy infrastructure or access for Nigerians.
“The House of Reps was alarmed that the dysfunctional electricity generation and supply system persists, contrary to the objectives behind government investments and grants aimed at developing the renewable energy sector, hence the resolution to probe these investments in order to determine the integrity of the procurement and execution processes.”
According to him,the investigation is not to witch-hunt but to discourage opaqueness and promote transparency and objectivity in handling government or public resources.
He commended the European Union and other donor agencies for their useful submissions, insights and cooperation in sharing information with the committee.
The resolutions of the House followed the adoption of a motion titled “Need to Investigate Investments in Renewable Energy Sector and Foreign Grants received from 2015 till date”, sponsored by the lawmaker representing Oshodi-Isolo II Federal Constituency, Lagos State, Okey-Joe Onuakalusi.
The lawmaker had said the parliament was aware that poor electricity generation, transmission and distribution constituted a huge threat to the nation’s quest for industrial and technological development.
According to the lawmakers,successive governments since 2015 have made substantial investments and attracted multimillion-dollar foreign grants to the renewable energy subsector of Nigeria’s power industry to create a viable and sustainable alternative energy supply.
They noted that in December 2023, the World Bank approved a $750 million facility to boost renewable energy in Nigeria, with the goal of providing over 17.5 million Nigerians with improved access to electricity through distributed renewable energy solutions.
They also noted that in 2020, the federal government launched a $200 million renewable energy project, tagged ‘Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP),’ aimed at providing off-grid energy to over 500,000 people across 105,000 households in rural communities, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The invited agencies and stakeholders include, but are not limited to Rural Electrification Agency, Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA),National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), NASENI Solar Energy Ltd, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Country Representative European Union, Union Bank Plc (Compliance Department), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Federal Ministry of Power, Energy Commission of Nigeria and Federal Ministry of Finance.
Other stakeholders in this initiative include the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, the Federal Ministry of Environment and Ecological Management, the Federal Ministry of Petroleum (Gas Resources), the Niger Delta Development Commission, and the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
Other contributors include the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Associations (Alliance) (REEEA-A), the United States Agency for International Development, and additional concerned parties.
