The African Development Bank Group led by Mr Akinwunmi Adesina has approved a loan of $500 million to Nigeria to finance the first phase of the economic governance and energy transition support programme.
This is an initiative aimed at accelerating transformation of the country’s electricity infrastructure and improving access to cleaner sources of energy.
As far back as August 24, 2022, the federal government launched Nigeria’s energy transition plan as a major pathway in achieving universal energy access by 2030 and a carbon-neutral economy by 2060.
The government said the plan was designed to tackle energy poverty and the climate change crisis, as well as deliver sustainable development goal seven (SDG7) by 2030 and net zero by 2060.
The plan will, among other things, lift 100 million people out of poverty, reduce Nigeria’s carbon footprint, drive economic growth and create jobs, according to the government.
On Thursday, in a statement, AfDB said the loan will help close the financing gap of the government’s budget in the 2024/2025 fiscal year, particularly supporting the implementation of the country’s new Electricity Act and the Nigeria energy transition plan.
“The Nigerian government launched the energy transition plan in August 2022, and in June 2023, passed a new Electricity Act decentralising the electricity supply industry and setting the stage for increased investments by subnational governments and the private sector,” AfDB said.
Furthermore, it stated that “The energy transition plan envisions the development, by 2050, of 250 GW of installed electricity capacity, 90 percent of which will be renewable.
“It will provide clean cooking access to the bulk of the population by 2030, using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biogas, biofuels like ethanol, and electric cookstoves.
