FG unveils off-grid coordination secretariat to streamline electricity project execution
The Federal Government has established an Off-Grid Coordination Secretariat to track commitments, manage risks and eliminate duplication of electricity projects across the power sector.
The initiative was announced on Monday in Abuja during the official relaunch of the Off-Grid Stakeholder Coordination and Partnership Forum, organised by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
The forum brought together key stakeholders and development partners, including the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Nigerian Energy Support Programme, UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT), SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA) and Murty International Ltd.
Delivering the keynote address at the event, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, represented by his Chief of Staff, Doyin Adelabu, identified fragmentation as a major obstacle to rapid electrification.
«“Fragmentation is the quiet tax every under-coordinated sector pays: in duplicated effort, missed investment opportunities, and slower delivery of power to the Nigerians who need it most,” he said.»
Tegbe said the Off-Grid Coordination Secretariat would convene issue-based working groups and generate shared market intelligence to improve coordination across the sector.
He urged development partners, financiers, private operators, state governments and civil society organisations to nominate focal points, share data and participate actively in the coordination process.
The minister also pledged that the ministry would continue to provide policy direction through the National Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan, while supporting state electricity markets under the Electricity Act.
Also speaking at the forum, the Managing Director of the REA, Abba Aliyu, stressed the need for a centralised platform to help stakeholders identify existing projects and allocate resources more efficiently.
«“As Nigeria’s off-grid energy sector continues to expand in scale, investment, and institutional participation, there is an increasing need to establish an Off-Grid Sector Coordination Secretariat that will provide a structured platform for alignment across government institutions, development partners, private-sector operators, and other stakeholders,” he said.»
Aliyu explained that the Secretariat would strengthen coordination throughout the project lifecycle, from planning and development to financing and implementation, by promoting information sharing, harmonising interventions and aligning investments with national and subnational electrification priorities.
«“This will help eliminate duplication of efforts, reduce institutional and operational inefficiencies, improve the allocation of scarce resources, and ensure that multiple programs do not inadvertently target the same communities while other underserved areas remain unattended.”»
He added that the Secretariat would provide a common coordination framework through which projects, financing, technical assistance and policy interventions could be strategically sequenced and deployed.
«“More importantly, the Secretariat will provide a common coordination framework through which projects, financing, technical assistance, and policy interventions can be strategically sequenced and deployed, thereby improving delivery efficiency, strengthening accountability, and maximizing the collective impact of public, private, and development-partner investments in Nigeria’s off-grid electricity sector,” he said.»
In his remarks, the representative of Heinrich Böll Stiftung Nigeria, Ikenna-Donald Ofoegbu, urged stakeholders to look beyond connection figures when measuring the success of electrification initiatives.
“For many years, we measured success largely by the number of mini-grids installed, solar home systems deployed, or connections delivered. These indicators remain important. But the next phase requires us to ask a more consequential question: What happens after the connection?” Ofoegbu said.
He called for a strategic shift “from successful interventions to scale; from connections to productive use; from donor-supported projects to investable markets; and from individual programmes to a coordinated national ecosystem.”
The Off-Grid Stakeholder Coordination and Partnership Forum began as a donor roundtable in April 2017.
According to government data, more than 7.5 million Nigerians have gained access to electricity through over 200 solar hybrid mini-grids and approximately 1.8 million solar home system connections.
The government is targeting an additional 17 million Nigerians through the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) programme.
