*Dr. Abba Aliyu, Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, says Nigeria’s renewable industry has generated only about 70,000 jobs despite attracting over $2 billion in cumulative investment, underscoring the urgent need for a deliberate shift towards local capacity development in the sector
Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has said Nigeria’s renewable energy workforce participation remains significantly and comparatively low.
ConsumerConnect reports REA the renewable industry has generated only about 70,000 jobs despite attracting over $2 billion in cumulative investment.
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The agency noted this development in comparison to the 16.2 million jobs supported by the global solar industry.
Dr. Abba Aliyu, Managing Director of REA, who identified the gap, also said the lacuna underscored the urgent need for a deliberate shift towards local capacity development.
Aliyu warned that Nigeria could not build a sustainable energy transition on permanent import dependence.
The REA Chief Executive noted this Thursday, July 23 , in his keynote address at the 2026 Oriental News Conference held in Lagos.
He spoke on thebtheme, “Driving Nigeria’s Decarbonisation through Strategic Promotion of Clean Energy — The REA Experience”.
Represented on the occasion by Gboyega Ayoade, Executive Director, Corporate Services of REA, the Managing Director of the agency also emphasised that energy policy must double as industrial policy—driven by local participation rather than expatriate dominance.
Stated he: “As renewable energy deployment grows, we must also grow local capacity for assembly, manufacturing, installation, operation, maintenance, recycling and skills development.
“This is where the Nigeria First policy becomes important.
“Clean energy must become a platform for local content, job creation and industrial value capture.”
Aliyu further stated: “Every major renewable energy programme should ask a simple question: beyond supplying electricity, what domestic capacity does this project build?
“Does it create jobs for Nigerian engineers and technicians? Does it use local installers?
“Does it create demand for local assembly? Does it support Nigerian firms? Does it strengthen the supply chain? Does it improve skills and technology transfer?
“This is how clean energy becomes an industrial policy tool.”
He noted that REA’s programmes are being repositioned to align with this approach, leveraging clean energy as a strategic industrial policy tool.
The REA Chief Executive said: “REA’s programmes are increasingly being positioned within this logic.
“Large-scale deployment creates predictable demand. Predictable demand gives confidence to manufacturers. Manufacturing creates jobs.
“Jobs expand incomes. And stronger local supply chains reduce costs over time.”
He also disclosed that key segments, including public sector solarisation, mini-grids, agricultural energy hubs, and institutional electrification, could serve as anchor markets for domestic renewable manufacturing rather than merely energy access projects.
Despite strong potential, he noted that several solar projects have failed to advance due to weak bankability structures rather than technical limitations.
Aliyu as well explained that capital would only flow where projects are well-prepared, risks clearly allocated, revenue streams credible, and institutions trusted.
According to him, the core constraint is not potential—but bankability.
He said: “Projects often require stronger feasibility studies, clearer demand assessment, improved payment structures, robust technical preparation, environmental and social safeguards, deeper community engagement, and effective risk mitigation instruments.
“To address this, REA is working with development partners, financial institutions, and private developers to strengthen project preparation and financing frameworks.
“Through performance-based grants, minimum subsidy frameworks, blended finance, demand aggregation, public-private partnerships, and green finance platforms, the agency aims to improve investability across the sector.”
Besides, he observed that Nigeria’s decarbonisation strategy must extend beyond emissions targets to a broader economic framework linking energy, finance, industry, and investment.
The Chief Executive of the agency explained: “For Nigeria, decarbonisation cannot be reduced to a narrow conversation about emissions alone.
“It must be a conversation about competitiveness, industrial renewal, energy security, climate resilience, financing, technology, and inclusive growth.
“It must recognise the structure of our economy, the role of oil and gas, the urgency of expanding electricity access, and the need to position clean energy as a catalyst for national development,” he said.
Aliyu emphasised that achieving would require coordinated, system-wide reforms.
He stated: “Decarbonisation cannot be achieved through isolated rules.
“It requires an integrated regulatory architecture that connects energy, finance, environment, industry and investment.
“Regulation must therefore enable innovation while protecting consumers and ensuring market discipline.”
According to him, this is where broad regulatory reform becomes essential in the industry.
He noted: “For the extractive industry, regulations around emissions management, carbon capture, gas flaring reduction, clean energy adoption, environmental reporting and sustainable finance must be clear and coordinated.
“For the power sector, regulations around mini-grids, embedded generation, net metering, wheeling, storage and distributed energy resources must continue to evolve.”
Aliyu cautioned that Nigeria’s decarbonisation pathway must reflect its development realities.
He said: “We are a developing country with a growing population, expanding energy demand and significant infrastructure deficits.
“Millions of Nigerians still require access to reliable electricity.
“Businesses still face high energy costs. Public institutions still depend heavily on diesel.
“Industrial clusters still struggle with unreliable supply. Rural communities still need power for productive use.
“Therefore, the challenge before us is not simply to reduce emissions.”
The Managing Director of the agency said: “The real challenge is to expand energy access, grow the economy, industrialise, and reduce emissions at the same time.”
The REA Chief said decentralised renewable energy solutions remain critical to achieving this balance.
He said: “For many years, the energy transition was sometimes presented as a trade-off between development and climate responsibility.
“But the evidence from Nigeria’s renewable energy access experience shows the opposite.”
Aliyu added: “Clean energy can reduce emissions while improving livelihoods.
“It can lower the cost of production while improving reliability.
“It can serve communities that the conventional grid may not reach quickly.
“It can power hospitals, schools, markets and farms.”
The Managing Director noted: “It can also create new industries around solar, storage, metering, digital monitoring, installation, maintenance and local manufacturing.
“In this sense, clean energy is not only an environmental solution. It is an economic development strategy.”
He listed: “Key programmes include the Nigeria Electrification Project, the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up programme, the Energising Education Programme, the National Public Sector Solarisation Initiative, and various mini-grid and agricultural energy projects.
According to him, those initiatives demonstrate that renewable energy can be deployed at scale through practical, private-sector-driven models.