The Federal Government’s efforts to overhaul the power sector have received N115 billion in help from the US government.
Richard Nelson, Power Africa Coordinator, spoke at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, and the Federal Ministry of Power, expressing the US government’s commitment to improving power supply across Africa.
By 2030, according to Nelson, the U.S. Government’s effort would increase the continent’s access to power. “After operating for almost 11 years, we have achieved notable progress throughout the continent.
Utilising about $26 billion in leverage, we have assisted nearly 15,000 megawatts of power projects in 152 distinct projects to meet cash flows.
Thus, we’ve accomplished a few noteworthy goals. Nearly 200 million people on the continent now have access to power thanks to our assistance. And because of all of that, we have a special spot for Nigeria.
“It has been a crucial emphasis from the beginning and will remain so in the future. This MOU, which we will sign today and USAID will sign with you, is a critical component of Power Africa’s overall involvement with Nigeria over the next many years. We’re thrilled to be able to help.
“Nigeria itself, the work that we’ve done, has resulted in about 5 million connections, representing upwards of 20 million individuals in the previous five years. We’ve also assisted around 3,000 megawatts, or somewhat more than 3,000 megawatts, of electricity reaching financial flows. But we plan to encourage more of it in the coming years,” he added.
Melissa Jones, Mission Director, USAID Nigeria, noted that the MoU would strengthen and accelerate the agency’s collaboration with the ministry.
Honourable Minister, you are in charge of Nigeria’s leading electricity sector policy making organisation, and you have done an outstanding job in outlining your five-point strategy for all of us.
“We are very excited to sign this MOU and to achieve our shared goals under the MOU, USAID intends to launch and empower nigeria, a new N115 billion programme to support Nigeria’s energy reform and clean energy transition”
Chief Adebayo Adekola Adelabu, the Minister of Power, stated in his remarks that the N115.2 billion cooperation with USAID is a critical step towards resolving long-standing issues with providing all Nigerians with dependable and sustainable power
Bottom Line
The grant is part of the Power Africa initiative, which aims to increase access to electricity across Africa. This could mean millions more Nigerians gaining access to reliable power.
The grant will also support Nigeria’s transition to clean energy sources, which is crucial for environmental sustainability.
