Representatives explore $2 billion renewable energy grants and investments in Nigeria, invite stakeholders

Following an investigative hearing into $2 billion in renewable energy grants and investments in Nigeria, the House of Representatives Renewable Energy Committee invited stakeholders.

According to the committee, the investment did not have a commensurate impact on the country’s energy security problems.

President Bola Tinubu, at the African Natural Resource and Energy Investment Summit in Nigeria in July 2024, stated that the country had attracted over $2 billion in investment into the sector in the last decade.

A statement issued on Sunday by Victor Ogene, chairman of the House committee in Abuja, said the investigation would cover the period from 2015 to 2024.

The inquiry hearing follows the mandate given to the committee on 6 June 2024 to investigate Ministries, Departments and Institutions involved in investments, procurement and receipt of grants for the development of the renewable energy sector.

The hearing is planned to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 5 and 6, 2024.

The MP said that although the government has attracted over $2 billion in renewable energy investments in the last decade, as reported by the Rural Electrification Authority in 2023, there has been no visible improvement in the sector.

He explained: “The House of Representatives is alarmed at the continuation of a dysfunctional system of electricity production and supply, contrary to the objectives behind government investments and grants to develop the renewable energy sector.

“Hence the decision to investigate these investments to determine the integrity of the acquisition and execution processes.”

According to him, the investigation is not a witch hunt, but an exercise to deter shady dealings and promote transparency and impartiality in the management of government or public resources.

He explained that the House decision followed the passage of a motion titled ‘Need to Investigate Investments in the Renewable Energy Sector and Foreign Grants Received since 2015’, sponsored by the MP representing Oshodi-Isolo II Federal Constituency, Lagos State. Okey-Joe onuakalusi.

The MP explained that the parliament is aware that poor electricity generation, transmission and distribution pose a significant threat to the country’s industrial and technological development goals.

The statement noted that since 2015, successive governments have made significant investments in Nigeria’s renewable energy subsector and attracted multimillion-dollar foreign grants, with the aim of creating a viable and sustainable alternative energy supply.

The statement noted that in December 2023, the World Bank approved a $750 million facility to boost renewable energy in Nigeria, aiming to provide better access to electricity through distributed renewable energy solutions to over 17.5 million Nigerians.

The statement also noted that the Federal Government launched the ‘Nigeria Electrification Project’ in 2020, a $200 million renewable energy project funded by the African Development Bank, aimed at providing off-grid energy to over 500,000 people in 105,000 households in rural communities. .

According to the statement, the agencies invited to the public hearing include the Rural Electrification Agency, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, National Science and Engineering Infrastructure Agency and Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

The statement also stated that the European Union Country Representative, Union Bank Plc (Integration Department), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Federal Ministry of Energy, Nigerian Energy Commission and Federal Ministry of Finance were also invited.

Other organizations invited include the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Federal Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Blue Economy, Federal Ministry of Environment and Ecological Management, Federal Ministry of Petroleum (Gas Resources), Niger Delta Development Commission, United States Agency for International Development, Federal Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. Department of Budget and Economic Planning, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, General Accounting Office of the Federation and Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Associations, etc.