Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, is seeking the support of the United Nations to achieve the country’s energy targets by providing technical assistance, capacity building and financial support.
 
Adelabu made the call, yesterday, during an international dialogue session with representatives from Britain, Brazil, Pakistan, Tonga, Philippines, Uruguay, Moldova, among others, organised by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
 
This was as the Federal Government granted a 50 per cent subsidy on electricity for public hospitals across the country. This decision aligns with the commitment made by the minister to subsidise electricity in hospitals and universities, even for those on Band-A feeders.
 
According to Adelabu, the country is committed to achieving ‘Net Zero’ by 2060 with a short-term target under the Vision 30:30:30, to attain 30 gigawatts of grid energy supply with a 30 per cent Renewable Energy mix by 2030, and a long-term goal of universal energy access.
 
He stressed that the targets presented an opportunity for Nigeria to adopt cleaner and more sustainable energy solutions, as the country strives to achieve energy security and meet the demands of its growing economy .
 
The minister mentioned that the Federal Government implemented a multi-prolonged approach to tackle issues across the country’s electricity value chain and set the sector on a path to recovery and prosperity.
 
He explained: “As Nigeria strives to achieve its energy transition targets, it is faced with many challenges, which include mobilisation of finance for project development, inadequate technical and commercial capacity across the value chain, limited local content in products and services, and infrastructure limitations that hinder the adoption of variable renewable energy technologies on the national grid.”
  
Setting the sector on the path of recovery, he said, the government has streamlined legislative and policy processes to reduce bureaucratic red tape and encourage active participation from sub-national entities, thereby fostering investment and project execution.
 
He added that the sector was leveraging public and private funds to de-risk project investments and attract more substantial finance commitment, enabling larger and faster project rollout.
 
“We are embracing technology and innovation to help investors identify optimal investment opportunities. We have initiated a national programme to fast-track infrastructure development to build a robust, viable and resilient grid network. We are also fostering strategic partnerships and collaborations with investment communities and development partners to leverage global expertise, share resources and co-invest in the energy sector,” he said.

ANNOUNCING the subsidy approval, yesterday, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, explained that the initiative was to lower operational costs for public hospitals and ease the financial burden on patients.
 
Alausa shared this news during his visit to the National Neo-Psychiatric Hospital in Barnawa, Kaduna State, where he inaugurated electronic health records and alternative power sources, including a solar-powered borehole and the solarisation project at the Lawal Jafaru Isah Emergency Complex and the Dialysis Unit.

Adelabu had, in Ibadan, Oyo State, clarified that the subsidy would not extend to private businesses operating within universities and hospitals. He acknowledged the financial difficulties the institutions face in paying electricity bills, but noted government’s plan to meter all businesses within the institutions to prevent subsidies from benefiting private enterprises.
 
The power minister emphasised, “We know they are development institutions, they are social institutions. But inside the health and educational institutions, private businesses are hiding under them. These people charge their customers commercially and they expect to be subsidised because they are located within the territories of these institutions. We said no; go and do a proper search and meter everybody. For the ones that are properly health and education-related, we are ready to subsidise them, even if they are on Band A.
 
“We are compiling our data. Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) will collect a certain amount and the government will pay the balance. But we must get the data right, so we do not subsidise a private business that is charging its customers commercially. That will be an abnormal profit, and it is unfair.”
 
The move came after universities and public hospitals reported a significant increase in their electricity bills following the removal of subsidies for Band A customers, who receive a minimum of 20 hours of electricity daily. For instance, the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) recently expressed concern over an “outrageous” electricity bill of approximately N280 million for May, a sharp increase from the usual N100 million.
 
While the Ministry of Power has yet to provide full details on the subsidy implementation, its spokesman, Bolaji Tunji, assured that further information would be provided soon.