Akinwunmi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), recently highlighted Nigeria’s critical energy challenge during the 90th birthday celebration of former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon. He revealed that Nigeria has the largest population globally without access to electricity, with 86 million people living in darkness. This energy crisis significantly hinders business operations, leading to massive economic losses. According to the IMF, Nigeria loses $29 billion annually, or 5.6% of its GDP, due to unreliable power supply, while the country spends $14 billion yearly on generators and fuel.
Adesina expressed concern over the detrimental effect of this power deficit on Nigerian industries, emphasizing that no business can survive without generators. Despite Nigeria’s abundant natural resources like gas and crude oil, millions of people remain without electricity, making the country the global leader in energy poverty.
The AfDB is actively working to address this issue through investments in the Nigerian power sector, focusing on strengthening the national grid and expanding access to electricity. In collaboration with the World Bank, AfDB aims to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030 through the Mission 300 program. For Nigeria, the AfDB has already committed $200 million to the Nigerian electrification project and $210 million to reinforce the national transmission grid. This initiative will help bridge the country’s electricity gap and replace polluting diesel generators with cleaner alternatives, benefiting millions of Nigerians.
Click here to join our Telegram Channel