- Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, announced plans to boost local content in Nigeria’s power sector and reduce reliance on imported equipment through new legislation and policies.
- Adelabu highlighted the need for improved compliance and collaboration with local manufacturers to achieve sector goals, including overcoming challenges related to outstanding debts and tariff disputes.
Chief Adebayo Adelabu, Nigeria’s Minister of Power, convened a significant meeting in Abuja with major stakeholders in the electricity supply industry. The discussions focused on reducing the country’s dependence on imported power equipment and boosting local content within the sector.
Adelabu underscored the need to increase domestic production to conserve foreign exchange, create job opportunities, and enhance national productivity. Briefing journalists after the meeting, Adelabu outlined the collaborative effort to drive improvements in local content.
He announced the formation of a committee dedicated to developing and implementing legislation that would support local production and ensure compliance with new regulations. The committee will gather data, engage with stakeholders, and advance local content legislation through the National Assembly.
Representatives from power Distribution Companies (Discos), the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), among others, attended. The minister emphasised that the new policies and regulations would facilitate compliance and promote local manufacturing in the power sector.
He noted that recent visits to local manufacturers had revealed a promising capacity to meet a significant portion of the sector’s equipment needs. Adelabu also highlighted the advantages of increasing local content, including job creation for Nigerian youth, higher national productivity, and more significant revenue for the government.
He addressed the ongoing legislative efforts at the National Assembly to strengthen local content requirements, stating that the committee would work to accelerate the passage of the relevant bill and advocate for its approval. Adelabu acknowledged the challenges of achieving 6,000 megawatts (MW) of power supply by December 2024.
He specifically mentioned the current disputes with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) over new tariff regimes and outlined plans to engage further with MAN to find a middle ground. Adelabu tackled the issue of outstanding debts owed by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to Discos, which he identified as a significant factor affecting their liquidity and operational efficiency.
He proposed centralising MDA payments through the Ministry of Finance to streamline financial management and improve the sector’s cash flow. In his remarks, BPE Director-General Ayodeji Gbeleyi addressed the misalignment of fiscal policies favouring imports over local manufacturing.
Despite financial challenges, Gbeleyi emphasised the need for Discos to comply with local content policies and optimise their supply chains. The meeting underscored a unified effort to enhance Nigeria’s power sector through increased local production, policy reforms, and financial adjustments.