More than 85 million Nigerians, representing almost 40 per cent of the country’s population, still lack reliable access to electricity, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Aliyu, has disclosed, highlighting one of the biggest structural constraints on Nigeria’s economic growth and industrial competitiveness.
Aliyu made the disclosure in Abuja during the signing of a Joint Development Agreement between the Rural Electrification Agency and Ecotech Development Nigeria Limited to establish a solar panel and battery assembly and manufacturing facility in Nigeria.
He described the agreement as a major milestone in Nigeria’s renewable energy programme, noting that it represents the first time a Tier-1 Chinese renewable energy company has committed to establishing manufacturing and assembly operations within the country.
According to Aliyu, although the REA has extended electricity access to millions of previously underserved Nigerians through programmes such as the Rural Electrification Fund, the Nigerian Electrification Project and the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up Project, the country’s electricity deficit remains substantial.
“Over 85 million Nigerians, close to 40 per cent of our population, still lack reliable access to grid electricity. REA exists to close that gap,” he said.
Beyond the access challenge, Aliyu lamented Nigeria’s heavy dependence on imported renewable energy equipment despite possessing abundant solar resources.
“Every electrified community across Nigeria today tells the same quiet story. The panel on the rooftop was engineered abroad. The battery beneath it was assembled abroad. The inverter that ties it together was also manufactured outside the country. Nigeria supplied the roof, the need and the market, while someone else supplied the technology and equipment,” he said.
He argued that Nigeria’s continued dependence on imported solar technologies has denied the country employment opportunities, technical expertise and valuable foreign exchange. “Every dollar we spend importing solar modules is a dollar that could have been paid to Nigerian technicians or invested in Nigerian factories. We have been financing someone else’s industrial growth with our own electrification budget,” Aliyu stated.
Under the agreement, the REA, through its renewable asset management subsidiary, will facilitate the annual offtake of up to 200 megawatts of solar photovoltaic modules and 200 megawatt-hours of battery energy storage systems manufactured and assembled locally by Ecotech.
Aliyu clarified that the agreement is a non-exclusive framework intended to encourage domestic manufacturing while maintaining full compliance with Nigeria’s public procurement regulations. “This agreement is not a procurement mandate. Every transaction will still comply with our procurement rules and be judged on price, quality and reliability. We are not lowering the bar; we are widening who gets a fair opportunity to meet it,” he explained.
According to him, local manufacturing will reduce import dependence, shorten project delivery timelines, create employment, conserve foreign exchange and strengthen Nigeria’s technical capabilities in renewable energy. He added that the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030 through private sector-led industrialisation.
Managing Director of Ecotech Development Nigeria Limited, John Zhao, said the company will manufacture locally assembled solar panels, battery storage systems and hybrid inverters for residential, commercial and industrial applications while also providing engineering design, installation and long-term maintenance services.
He noted that the investment would improve access to quality renewable energy technologies while supporting Nigeria’s transition towards cleaner energy and industrial development.
Nigeria continues to face a significant electricity access challenge despite years of investment in the power sector. In response, the Federal Government has increasingly promoted renewable energy solutions, including mini-grids and solar home systems, while encouraging local manufacturing to reduce import dependence and accelerate rural electrification.
BrandiQ Analysis
The most significant revelation in this announcement is not the solar manufacturing agreement itself. It is the stark statistic that 85 million Nigerians still lack reliable electricity.
Electricity is no longer merely a utility. In the digital economy, it has become the operating system of economic productivity. Without dependable electricity, businesses cannot compete efficiently, schools cannot fully embrace digital education, hospitals cannot consistently deliver quality healthcare, manufacturers cannot optimise production, and artificial intelligence cannot scale beyond isolated pilot projects.
The economic consequences are profound. Millions of Nigerian businesses operate daily on expensive diesel and petrol generators, significantly increasing production costs and reducing competitiveness. Small businesses spend a disproportionate share of their income on self-generated electricity, while many micro-enterprises simply close when fuel prices rise. This energy deficit acts as a hidden tax on entrepreneurship, investment and industrial expansion.
The implications for productivity are equally serious. Manufacturing output remains constrained by inconsistent power supply, forcing firms to reduce operating hours, delay expansion plans or relocate production to countries with more reliable energy infrastructure. Digital businesses – from fintech companies to software developers and data centres—must invest heavily in backup power systems, diverting capital that could otherwise support innovation, research and employment.
For ordinary Nigerians, unreliable electricity directly affects quality of life. Students struggle to study after dark, healthcare facilities face interruptions during medical procedures, households spend increasing portions of their income on alternative energy sources, while millions remain excluded from the digital economy because electricity remains unavailable or unreliable.
Perhaps most importantly, the electricity deficit threatens Nigeria’s AI ambitions. Artificial intelligence depends fundamentally on stable electricity, broadband connectivity and computing infrastructure. Without reliable power, discussions about AI leadership, digital transformation and knowledge economies risk becoming aspirational rather than achievable.
The BrandiQ Perspective
There is another strategic issue embedded within the REA announcement that deserves greater national attention. Nigeria’s renewable energy challenge is not simply about electrification; it is increasingly about industrialisation.
For years, Nigeria has imported nearly every major component required for solar deployment – panels, batteries, inverters and related technologies. While renewable energy projects expanded electricity access, they simultaneously financed manufacturing jobs, technological learning and industrial growth in foreign economies.
The Ecotech agreement therefore represents more than another renewable energy investment. It signals the beginning of what could become Nigeria’s renewable industrial policy, where the country gradually moves from being merely a consumer of clean energy technologies to becoming a producer.
If successfully implemented, local manufacturing could create industrial clusters, stimulate technical skills development, deepen supply chains and position Nigeria as a regional manufacturing hub for renewable energy equipment across West Africa.
However, manufacturing alone will not solve Nigeria’s energy crisis. Local factories themselves require stable electricity, efficient logistics, supportive regulation and access to finance. Industrial policy and energy policy must therefore evolve together.
BrandiQ Verdict
The REA’s disclosure that 85 million Nigerians still lack reliable electricity should serve as a national economic wake-up call. Every discussion about artificial intelligence, digital transformation, industrialisation, manufacturing competitiveness and economic diversification ultimately begins with one indispensable foundation – reliable power. Nigeria’s renewable energy transition should therefore be measured not simply by the number of solar panels installed, but by the number of businesses becoming more productive, factories becoming more competitive, jobs being created through local manufacturing, and citizens experiencing measurable improvements in their standard of living. In the emerging global digital economy, electricity is no longer just infrastructure – it is economic destiny.
