FG eyes $10bn power sector investment through Public-Private Partnerships

The federal government has announced plans to work with the private sector to secure a portion of the $10bn required to ensure steady, 24-hour electricity supply across the country over the next five to 10 years.

This approach is intended to solve significant finance and technical difficulties in the power sector.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu and the Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, recently met in Abuja to discuss this strategy.

The need for Public-Private Partnerships to increase investment and expertise was acknowledged by both leaders as being essential to advancing performance improvements in Nigeria’s power infrastructure.

Ewalefoh emphasized the importance of power for Nigeria’s economic development and highlighted that optimizing and expanding power infrastructure requires private sector investment.

“Revamping the power sector requires planning, involves investments, and takes time. So, we need to collaborate to solve the issues in this sector,” he stated.

He recognised that addressing the issues facing the power sector requires collaboration between agencies and commercial partners and goes beyond financial support alone.

He promised that the regulatory procedures of the ICRC would allow the private sector to contribute a portion of the $10 billion needed for Nigeria’s electricity sector.

“The investment required in power is very huge, and government cannot fund it alone, so we have to leverage the financing capacity of the private sector. That is why the ICRC was set up—to regulate this leverage.”

Ewalefoh noted that the ICRC, under directives from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has implemented a six-point policy to streamline the PPP process and encourage investment.

He added that the Commission’s regulatory role remains firm, aiming to avoid delays and ensure that only qualified companies participate in these partnerships.

“The Commission is insisting on inserting conditions precedent to all PPP agreements, so any default by a preferred bidder automatically nullifies the agreement.”

Adelabu responded favourably to the ICRC’s suggestion to use PPPs to draw private investment into the power industry.

He underlined the significant sum of money required to achieve the objective of continuous, countrywide power.

“To achieve 24-hour power supply across Nigeria in the next 5 to 10 years, we will need at least $10 billion in funding over the next decade.

The government cannot afford that alone when there are other critical sectors in need of funding.”

Adelabu reaffirmed that the PPP strategy, which is supported by ICRC, will allow for private sector investment while maintaining government control over important power assets.

“Can the government handle it on its own? No! We must thus seek out or gather private sector funds while maintaining government ownership and interest,” he continued.

Through concession agreements, the Federal Government hopes to harness private resources and experience, indicating a concerted effort to promote long-term development and investment in Nigeria’s electricity industry.