Following an investigative hearing on the $2 billion renewable energy grants and investments in Nigeria, the House of Representatives Committee on Renewable Energy has invited stakeholders.
The investment, according to the committee, has not had a proportional impact on the nation’s energy security challenges.
President Bola Tinubu had in July 2024 stated at the Africa Natural Resource and Energy Investment Summit in Nigeria that the nation had attracted over $2 billion investment in the sector in the past decade.
A statement issued on Sunday by the House committee chairman, Victor Ogene, in Abuja, said the probe will cover the period from 2015 to 2024.
The investigative hearing follows the mandate given to the committee on 6 June 2024 to investigate Ministries, Departments, and Agencies involved in investments, procurement and receipt of grants for renewable energy sector development.
The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, 5 and 6 November 2024.
The lawmaker said that despite the government attracting over $2 billion in renewable energy investments in the past decade, as reported by the Rural Electrification Agency in 2023, there has been no noticeable improvement in the sector.
He explained, “The House of Representatives was alarmed that the dysfunctional electricity generation and supply system persists, contrary to the objectives behind government investments and grants aimed at developing the renewable energy sector.
“Hence, the resolution to probe these investments to determine the integrity of the procurement and execution processes.”
According to him, the probe is not a witch-hunt but an exercise to discourage shady dealings and promote transparency and objectivity in managing government or public resources.
He explained that the House’s resolution followed the adoption of a motion titled, ‘Need to Investigate Investments in the Renewable Energy Sector and Foreign Grants Received from 2015 Till Date’, sponsored by the lawmaker representing Oshodi-Isolo II Federal Constituency, Lagos State, Mr Okey-Joe Onuakalusi.
The lawmaker explained that the parliament was aware that poor electricity generation, transmission, and distribution pose a significant threat to the nation’s industrial and technological development goals.
The statement noted that successive governments since 2015 have made substantial investments and attracted multimillion-dollar foreign grants for Nigeria’s renewable energy subsector to create a viable and sustainable alternative energy supply.
The statement observed that in December 2023, the World Bank approved a $750 million facility to boost renewable energy in Nigeria, aiming to provide over 17.5 million Nigerians with improved access to electricity through distributed renewable energy solutions.
The statement also observed that in 2020, the Federal Government launched a $200 million renewable energy project, the ‘Nigeria Electrification Project,’ targeted at providing off-grid energy to over 500,000 people across 105,000 households in rural communities, funded by the African Development Bank.
Agencies invited to the public hearing, according to the statement, include the Rural Electrification Agency, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
Also invited, the statement explained, are the Country Representative of the European Union, Union Bank Plc (Compliance Department), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Federal Ministry of Power, Energy Commission of Nigeria and Federal Ministry of Finance.
Other invited entities include the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Federal Ministry of Environment and Ecological Management, Federal Ministry of Petroleum (Gas Resources), Niger Delta Development Commission, United States Agency for International Development, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Accountant General of the Federation, and Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Associations, among others.
