New Telegraph

FG: Nigeria needs $20bn investments to grow energy sector

Following the poor state of electricity in Nigeria, the Federal Government has said that the coun  try needs investments of about $20billion to substantially grow energy transmission and distribution.

Speaking yesterday in Lagos at the Nigeria Energy Conference, Special Adviser to the President on Infrastructure, Engineer Ahmad Zakari, lamented the huge infrastructure gap in the country, adding that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to bridge the gap.

According to him, “there is significant infrastructure gap in the energy sector and it is widening. The gap is significant and $20 billion investment is needed for energy transmission and distribution.”

He stated that the Federal Government with other concerned stakeholders and finance institutions had made some interventions to shore up the energy capability of the country, adding that such interventions had amount   \

to about $4 billion. He stated that the Federal Government with other concerned stakeholders and financeinstitutionshadmade some interventions to shore up the energy capability of the country.

“We have a country that we should be doing more electricityandenergysupply for the size of the population. “This administration is providing additional four kiga watts and generating capacity to building Afam and three other plants. “We are investing massively in improving infrastructureandweneedto work with the private sector.

“We have a huge gap, the size of our population needs much more energy and this administration is working to bridge that gap. Some of the work we are doing with partners, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, we arelookingatactivespending of about $3 billionto$4 billion even now.

“We will continue to invest in energy but we do it in as much as clean way that we can, expanding the mix with renewable energy, and ensuring that Nigerians have anopportunitytogetasmuch energy as they can.

“What we need to do, even nationally, is to ensure that thecatalyticinvestmentsthat government has put in place, we want to make sure that all those solutions,which are estimated at about $4 billion interventions would catalyse us to be able to get to more energy solution.”

The Minister of Power, Engineer Abubakar Aliyu, had said the Federal Government had initiated strategies targeted at activating 30 gigawatts of electricity by the year 2030. He noted that there was energy gap and the need for more investments in the sector.

The minister was represented by Mr. Temitope Fashedemi, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power. Aliyu said: “There is truth in saying the fact that energy is essential for human existence.

Social economic development and access to energy, especially in electricity, enhancing the standard of living, hence it is factored in the measurement of human development index.

“It is not surprising therefore,that per capita energy utilisation of electricity is indicative of any nation’s level of development “We are aware that Nigeria’s economic development aspiration demands a higher energy capacity that what we have available presently.

“Our current unmet energy needs are huge and they are bound to increase due to urbanisation and,population expansion.”

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