The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Energy Limited, Chris Ezeafulukwe, has called on Nigeria to focus on achieving energy sufficiency before pursuing a broader energy transition, arguing that the country’s immediate priority should be expanding access to reliable electricity through a balanced mix of available energy resources.

Ezeafulukwe made the remarks during a panel session titled Who Will Power Nigeria Next? Utility Partnerships, Private Power & Mini Grids at Solar & Storage Live Nigeria 2026, held at the Landmark Centre in Lagos.

Addressing industry stakeholders, including utilities, independent power producers, developers and regulators, he said Nigeria’s energy strategy should reflect its current developmental needs rather than mirror approaches adopted by more advanced economies.

According to him, Transcorp Group frames the debate around “energy sufficiency” rather than “energy transition”.

“In Transcorp Group, we replace the word ‘transition’ with ‘sufficiency’. Nigeria is working towards energy sufficiency, not transition. At the stage where we are, we need a combination of the different sources of energy that we have in Nigeria so that when we attain sufficiency, we can begin to talk about transition in the same way that the West is,” he said.

Ezeafulukwe observed that recent reforms in Nigeria’s electricity sector were increasingly being reinforced by market demand, particularly following the implementation of the Electricity Act.

“I love what is happening in the space now because we are going beyond regulation as the market is being driven by the market. Nature abhors a vacuum. The Electricity Act laid the foundation, but the market is demanding, urgently, that renewable energy takes its pride of place in Nigeria’s electricity market, and utilities are opening and engaging more,” he said.

He noted that the company’s investment strategy reflects this balanced approach, combining renewable energy projects with continued investment in gas-fired generation and electricity distribution.

According to him, Transcorp Energy is partnering with the Rural Electrification Agency to deliver a 30-megawatt interconnected mini-grid project in the Federal Capital Territory, with additional renewable energy projects already in development.

“Even as we develop the renewable energy business, we maintain our investments in gas-powered generation and in the distribution utilities to ensure that Nigeria attains energy sufficiency,” he added.

Ezeafulukwe also stressed that sustainable progress in the electricity sector would require coordinated investment across generation, transmission and distribution rather than concentrating on a single segment of the value chain.

He said previous reforms had focused heavily on increasing generation capacity without ensuring corresponding improvements in transmission and distribution infrastructure, resulting in electricity that could not be evacuated to consumers.

“There is a combination of actions that need to be taken at each sub-segment of the power sector to deliver the progress we want. Part of the mistakes made previously was that generators were given a target on the capacity they had to develop, but transmission was not given a target, and the distributors were not given targets for development,” he said.

“It got to a point where generators had capacity that could not be evacuated. We need to correct that with policies that ensure proportionate development across the different sides.”

On the operating environment, Ezeafulukwe urged policymakers and industry participants to focus on commitment and collaboration rather than waiting for perfect regulatory conditions.

“There is never a perfect policy environment at any point in time. In my experience in the power sector, it is more about how determined and how committed we are to achieve the objectives we have set. When you are committed, and there are policy gaps, you approach them in good faith, and then you can achieve sustainable results,” he said.

The session was moderated by Collins Teke, Clean Energy Adviser and journalist at Black Voice Media. Other panellists included Damilola Asaleye, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of Ashdam Solar Company; Oluwole Eweje, Founder and Managing Director of WATT Renewable; and Ademola Ogunbanjo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Oando Clean Energy.

Transcorp Energy said its participation at the event reflects the group’s integrated energy strategy, which combines renewable energy development, gas-fired electricity generation and power distribution to support Nigeria’s long-term energy security and economic growth.