Nigeria has announced plans to secure a $10 billion investment through collaboration with the private sector.
This initiative aims to address the country's longstanding electricity challenges and is seen as a pivotal step towards achieving a reliable 24-hour power supply nationwide.
The announcement followed a strategic meeting between Dr.
Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), and Chief Adebayo A. Adelabu, the Minister of Power, held in Abuja on Tuesday, November 12.
Dr. Ewalefoh emphasized the critical role of private sector involvement, stating, "The investment required in power is very huge and government cannot fund it alone, so we have to leverage on the financing capacity of the private sector."
The Nigerian government recognizes that its resources are insufficient to meet the substantial funding needed for this overhaul.
As Minister Adelabu explained, "For us to achieve 24 hours power supply across Nigeria in the next 5 to 10 years, there is a minimum funding requirement of about $10 billion.
The government cannot afford that, when there are other critical sectors in need of funding."
To facilitate this ambitious plan, the ICRC, which regulates Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), is committed to streamlining processes to attract effective private investment.
The commission's six-point policy direction aims to accelerate project delivery and ensure stringent regulatory measures to prevent defaulting bidders.
Dr. Ewalefoh reassured stakeholders, "We are insisting on inserting conditions precedent to all PPP agreements so that any preferred bidder that defaults will have their agreement automatically nullified."
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