Trending Nigeria requires approximately $23 billion in additional investment to tackle its electricity challenges and improve the reliability of power supply across the country, according to the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Dr Abba Aliyu.
Aliyu disclosed this on Friday, August 21, 2026, in Abuja, during the signing of a collaboration agreement between the REA and Alpha Morgan Bank aimed at expanding financing for renewable energy projects.
Under the agreement, Alpha Morgan Bank is committing up to ₦50 billion to support eligible renewable-energy developers participating in REA programmes. Qualifying developers could access revolving loans of up to ₦10 billion each, subject to the bank’s assessment and approval.
However, Aliyu stressed that the ₦50 billion facility represents only a fraction of the investment required to confront Nigeria’s enormous electricity deficit.
According to the REA boss, Nigeria currently has less than $2.5 billion available against an estimated requirement of about $23 billion to address electricity access and improve supply reliability.
Aliyu warned that the country’s electricity demand is likely to increase dramatically in the coming years due to three major factors: population growth, the increasing electrification of economic activities, and rapid digitalisation driven by artificial intelligence and data centres.
Electricity, he argued, will increasingly power transportation, agriculture, healthcare, education, manufacturing and virtually every other major sector of the economy.
The REA is placing significant emphasis on renewable and decentralised energy solutions. Aliyu said President Bola Tinubu had approved a $750 million renewable-energy intervention targeting the deployment of about 1,350 mini-grids and expanded electricity access for approximately 2.5 million Nigerians.
The agency is also expecting another $119 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to support interconnected and isolated mini-grid projects.
Nigeria’s electricity financing challenge is not new. Earlier estimates associated with the government’s universal electrification plans placed the required aggregate investment at approximately $23.2 billion, including investments in grid connections, solar home systems and mini-grids.
The latest warning from the REA therefore highlights a wider economic challenge. Reliable electricity is essential not only for households but also for industries, small businesses, hospitals, schools, technology companies and Nigeria’s ambition to become a major digital economy.
With billions of dollars required and government resources constrained, attracting private capital, domestic banks and international development finance is likely to become increasingly important.
The bigger question is whether Nigeria can successfully mobilise the $23 billion investment — and, more importantly, translate that investment into reliable electricity that Nigerians can actually feel in their homes and businesses.
