ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has called on the Energy Commission of Nigeria and the Rural Electrification Agency to strengthen collaboration aimed at increasing local production of electricity components, reducing imports, and conserving foreign exchange.
Adelabu said the proposed partnership between the two agencies would be driven by coordinated research efforts, comprehensive data collection, and joint planning frameworks, noting that these elements are essential to delivering President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reform agenda in the power sector.
The call comes amid growing concerns over Nigeria’s reliance on imported meters, turbines, transformers, and other critical power infrastructure, a dependence that continues to pressure foreign exchange reserves and slow electricity expansion despite years of reforms.
The minister made the remarks on Tuesday during a meeting with the management of the ECN in his Abuja office, according to a statement released on Wednesday by his media aide, Bolaji Tunji.
Nigeria’s power sector, which has witnessed several reforms since its privatisation in 2013, still grapples with structural challenges such as weak infrastructure, poor data management, and limited domestic manufacturing capacity.
Despite various government initiatives to expand access to electricity, most power equipment is still imported, leaving the sector vulnerable to currency fluctuations and supply chain disruptions.
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Adelabu said the Tinubu administration is committed to reversing this trend by ensuring that key electricity components are increasingly produced within the country.
He noted that the President is determined to fix the power sector as a foundation for wider economic growth, adding that local manufacturing of critical inputs would mark a major achievement of the administration.
“The ECN and the REA need to synergise. They need to come together, share research, and build data that will help the sector in the local production of electricity components. We must do everything possible in this regard, as this will make Mr President happy that, in his time, we are manufacturing meters and other critical inputs for ourselves. Today, we are happy that our exports are growing higher than our imports, and we must encourage this and conserve our foreign exchange,” Adelabu said.
The minister also stressed the importance of data, saying that “the absence of data is a serious challenge to us as we cannot plan without data and you cannot get accurate information without data.”
He disclosed that the ministry is working towards setting up a central data pool that would capture inputs from all key stakeholders across the electricity value chain, including generation and distribution companies, and urged the ECN to be fully integrated into the process.
To enhance coordination, Adelabu further directed that the ECN be included in the Power Sector Working Group, which meets quarterly, noting that the commission’s research mandate is critical to informed sector-wide decisions.
While Nigeria’s power generation mix is largely dominated by gas-fired plants, the minister highlighted the vast, untapped potential of hydropower, particularly small hydro projects.
He said more than 300 small dams across the country could be utilised to boost electricity supply if local capacity for turbine manufacturing is developed.
In his response, the Director-General of the ECN, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, expressed the commission’s willingness to collaborate closely with the Ministry of Power and other relevant agencies to realise President Tinubu’s vision of positioning the power sector as a driver of economic transformation.