The United Nations and the Nigerian government have deepened their partnership on renewable energy, launching the Nigeria pilot phase of the Africa Minigrids Programme in Abuja as a fresh push to bring reliable power to underserved communities.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohammed Fall, told the launch event that access to renewable energy is fundamentally about development, industrialisation and opportunity — especially for women and young people — and praised the collaboration between the government, the Rural Electrification Agency, development partners and local communities. He described mini-grids as development solutions in their own right, powering schools, health centres, farms and businesses and helping unlock livelihoods in rural economies.
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said mini-grids remain one of the most effective ways to close the country’s electricity access gap and pledged that rural electrification will stay central to Nigeria’s energy agenda, noting that reliable power underpins education, healthcare, agriculture, commerce and industrial growth.
The UN’s Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa, Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa, urged Nigeria to scale up its renewable energy efforts even further, framing the programme as an early proof point for what is possible when government, donors and communities pull in the same direction.
Source: (leadership.ng)