REA Credits Global Partners for Nigeria's Off-Grid Energy Growth
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has attributed the growth of Nigeria's clean-energy market to the combined efforts of several international development partners and industry organisations, stating that their joint support has improved off-grid coordination, market development and technical collaboration.
Among the partners acknowledged are the UK PACT, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Beckaphyl, the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA), SNV, Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS) and Murty International.
Together with these partners, the REA established the Off-Grid Stakeholder Coordination Forum, which was inaugurated in Abuja under the theme "Repositioning Sector Coordination for Strategic Growth, Partnership and Delivery."
The agency said the combined involvement of these partners has driven progress in coordination, market development, knowledge sharing, technical assistance and wider cooperation among stakeholders in Nigeria's off-grid energy ecosystem.
The Forum is intended to serve as a strategic platform to enhance coordination, improve alignment and speed up sustainable growth in the country's fast-evolving off-grid and clean energy sector.
It assembles government institutions, state governments, development partners, financiers, private-sector operators, industry associations, civil society organisations and other actors operating within Nigeria's decentralised energy landscape.
The creation of the Forum comes in response to the increasing size and complexity of the off-grid sector, where numerous institutions and organisations carry out projects and interventions in different communities, frequently with overlapping mandates, funding sources and development goals.
At the launch, stakeholders stressed that better coordination is becoming ever more necessary to guarantee that investments complement one another, that resources are used efficiently and that underserved communities are reached fairly.
Beyond government, the Forum acknowledges the vital role played by development partners and industry organisations in developing Nigeria's clean energy market.
Speaking at the event, the managing director and chief executive officer of REA, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, highlighted the need for a shared coordination and alignment framework for the sector.
Aliyu said, "the objective is not to create another layer of bureaucracy, but to provide a practical mechanism through which stakeholders can better understand who is doing what, where interventions are being deployed, what resources are available, and how different initiatives can be strategically aligned".
He added that improved coordination would help remove duplication, boost institutional and operational efficiency, enhance the use of limited resources and prevent multiple programmes from unintentionally focusing on the same communities while other underserved areas are neglected.
The minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, who was represented by the chief of staff of the Federal Ministry of Power, Adedoyin Adelabu, reassured stakeholders and the public of the Ministry's commitment to service and policy direction.
Tegbe described fragmentation as the hidden cost that every poorly coordinated sector bears, through duplicated efforts, lost investment opportunities and slower delivery of power to Nigerians who need it most.
According to him, "The Forum is therefore expected to serve as a continuous platform for shared intelligence, joint problem-solving, partnership development and coordinated action, rather than a one-off stakeholder engagement."
He further stated that the Forum would offer stakeholders the chance to identify common challenges, exchange lessons and data, align priorities and build practical partnerships that can scale successful interventions from individual projects to sector-wide solutions.
Other stakeholders at the launch also underscored the value of a coordinated approach.
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