The Rural Electrification Agency announced 3.7GW of domestic renewable energy manufacturing capacity will be established in Lagos, Ogun, Bayelsa, and Kano states.
He disclosed this his keynote address titled “Scaling Mini-Grids and Solar Infrastructure for Industrial Production” delivered at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Renewable Energy Outlook Conference in Lagos.
He implored the private sector to leverage the favorable investment climate to secure Nigeria’s long-term industrial growth.
He also urged commercial banks and financiers to move past basic equipment financing in the power sector.
According to him, the sector should provide project preparation funds to make early concepts bankable, offer local currency loans to reduce foreign exchange risks, and create pathways to monetize carbon credits plus green premium instruments.
Dr. Aliyu restated REA’s commitment to building a transparent investment pipeline and challenged the private sector to shift from passive consumers to active solution builders.
“A mini-grid powering homes changes lives. But one that also powers a rice mill, cold room, welding cluster, clinic, digital hub, and market changes an economy,” he said.
Aliyu emphasized that Nigeria’s industrial competitiveness will hinge entirely on its ability to build reliable, affordable, and scalable electricity systems.
“Scaling mini-grids and solar infrastructure for industrial production is not about choosing between the grid and off-grid systems.”
“It is about designing a smarter power system that uses every viable tool available. Nigeria needs the national grid. Nigeria needs gas. Nigeria needs hydropower. Nigeria needs solar. Nigeria needs storage. Nigeria needs embedded generation. Nigeria needs mini-grids. Nigeria needs private capital. Nigeria needs local manufacturing. Nigeria needs data. And Nigeria needs coordination,” Dr. Aliyu stated.
He further noted that the renewable energy market of the future will look radically different from the power architecture of the past.
He emphasized that regulation must remain forward-looking enabling commercial innovation while protecting consumers and preserving market discipline for the future.
He pointed to recent regulatory milestones by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) as critical instruments moving the market from small pilot projects to industrial-scale deployment.
These include net billing frameworks and updated regulations that expand the capacity threshold for interconnected mini-grids from 1 megawatt (MW) up to 5MW. This expanded capacity creates room for factories, residential estates, market clusters, universities, and data centers to integrate seamlessly into a flexible power network.
The Minister of Power, Mr. Joseph Tegbe declared that the transformation of Nigeria’s electricity sector is a generational task that cannot be fully concluded within a single administration.
He emphasized that what took over 50 years to destroy cannot be magically repaired in three months.
“The problems plaguing the power sector are largely governance and commercial challenges; the technical aspect accounts for only 20 percent of the issue.”
“The foundation of our transformation is legislative. The Electricity Act has fundamentally altered the governance of Nigeria’s electricity sector. States now possess the constitutional ability to transmit, generate, and regulate power. This administration has democratized energy governance,” he said.
He however maintained that the foundation being laid by the current administration is built to last.
Tegbe noted that while the government’s reforms are driven by a profound sense of urgency, structural overhauls of this magnitude require sustained momentum and legislative continuity rather than short-term fixes.
The President of LCCI, Engr. Leye Kupoluyi, affirmed that energy costs have become a critical component of operational expenses for Nigerian businesses, severely limiting growth across all sectors.
He also commended the Minister and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) for their innovative, off-grid renewable solutions that are delivering accessible electricity to underserved populations, while stressing that achieving a successful transition requires massive, industrial-scale private sector investments to ensure darkness becomes a thing of the past.
