The African Development Bank (AfDB) has expressed its readiness to support the Nigerian government’s ongoing power reforms through technical advisory and other areas in order to boost power generation, transmission and distribution in the country.
The development finance institution made the pledge during a meeting with the Nigerian delegation, led by the Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, and the AfDB team, presided over by the bank’s President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, at the “Just Energy Transition and Agricultural Transformation for Africa” conference in Busan, South Korea.
At the parley, the President of AfDB, who expressed delight over the plans by the Nigerian government to consolidate on the achievements recorded in the nation’s power sector, highlighted the impactful multi-sectoral interventions made by the development finance institution in Nigeria in the past few years, particularly in the Power and Agriculture sectors.
In his remarks, Adelabu thanked the AfDB’s board and management for the bank’s sustained support for Nigeria, particularly under Adesina’s leadership which has made AfDB to become a true development partner for African nations.
He pleaded for more support for Nigeria’s Power and Agricultural sectors, including Rice and Wheat production programmes.
In addition, the Minister solicited the technical advisory sponsorship for Nigeria’s power sector from the AfDB, leveraging its extensive experience in power sector interventions across Africa.
During the bilateral meeting, the Nigerian delegation secured an In-Principle Agreement from the AfDB for Technical Advisory Sponsorship, potentially encompassing stress testing and capacity simulation of Nigeria’s power infrastructure. .
Also, AfDB also expressed its readiness to disburse a previously approved $250 million fund for the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) under the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and additional support to Northern Nigerian states through the $20 billion 10,000MW Northern Africa Desert to Power fund.
