The Federal Republic of Nigeria has been granted a $500 million loan by the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group to fund the initial phase of the Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Program (EGET-SP). This new program aims to improve access to cleaner energy sources and accelerate the transformation of the nation’s electricity infrastructure.
According to an official release from the AfDB, the loan would specifically support the implementation of the Nigeria Energy Transition Plan and the country’s new Electricity Act, helping to bridge the financing shortfall in the Federal Budget for the 2024–2025 fiscal year.
August 2022 saw the introduction of Nigeria’s energy transition plan, and June 2023 saw the passage of a new Electricity Act that decentralized the country’s electricity supply sector and established the stage for increased investments by subnational governments and the private sector.
The energy transition plan envisions the development, by 2050, of 250 GW of installed electricity capacity, 90% 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.
The Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Program will also support the implementation of these policies, helping deliver much-needed upgrades to Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure and fast-tracking the country’s efforts to transition millions of households and businesses to cleaner and renewable sources of energy.
The Bank Group’s $500 million support to the Federal Government of Nigeria is the latest in a series of initiatives aimed at supporting the country’s economic growth, poverty reduction, and climate action efforts.
The Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Program (EGET-SP) is in line with the Bank Group’s new Ten-Year Strategy 2024-2033, its High 5s priorities, and the New Deal on Energy for Africa, which seeks to achieve universal access to modern energy by 2030.
As of July 2024, the African Development Bank Group’s active portfolio in Nigeria is valued at about $4.4 billion.
