UN hails Nigeria’s progress in expanding affordable energy access

A new United Nations (UN) report has commended Nigeria for achieving significant milestones in expanding reliable energy access at a lower cost through innovative subsidy frameworks and strategic off-grid interventions that have connected over 5 million people and created more than 5,000 green jobs.

The findings, published in the UN’s World Social Report 2026: The New Economics of Social Inclusion, spotlight the impact of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) in expanding modern energy infrastructure to underserved and unserved communities across the country.

The report also commended Nigeria and Ghana for leading innovative agrivoltaics projects that integrate solar installations directly onto working farmlands.

This model, according to the report, allowed communities to transform food and energy systems simultaneously, effectively harvesting sunlight twice on the same plot of land to optimise both agricultural yield and clean power generation.

Citing the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) as a model policy intervention, the UN noted that the strategic subsidisation of rural mini-grids has significantly lowered retail tariffs for vulnerable populations while unlocking substantial private capital.

The report revealed that the initiative has supported the deployment of 125 mini-grids and catalysed the distribution of over one million Solar Home Systems (SHS).

“Through these interventions, more than 5 million Nigerians now have access to reliable power, backed by targeted subsidies, lifeline tariffs, and pay-as-you-go financing models designed to ensure long-term affordability and widespread access,” the report read in part.

The UN also emphasised that targeted subsidies and differential pricing frameworks remain vital to ensuring an equitable energy transition. By prioritising energy efficiency and off-grid solutions in low-income areas, developing nations can secure high-yield returns on investment, mitigate energy access disparities and stimulate local enterprise.

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Reacting to the global recognition, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the REA, Abba Aliyu, stated that the report validated the agency’s core philosophy that rural electrification extends far beyond counting megawatts.

“It is about building an energy ecosystem that drives economic productivity and uplifts livelihoods,” he said.

Aliyu also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for championing the world’s largest publicly funded renewable energy portfolio, noting that the agency has now facilitated over 1,000 mini-grid installations nationwide.

He added that the REA’s expanding footprint continues to strengthen agro-processing, raise agricultural yields and bolster national food security by powering irrigation systems, cold storage facilities and rural cottage industries, citing the recent commissioning of a 1MW mini-grid project in Gombe State.