Nigeria has strengthened its international energy partnerships with the signing of a new $190 million renewable energy loan agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama.
The facility, announced by the Federal Ministry of Power, is aimed at scaling up distributed renewable energy solutions across underserved communities, a key component of Nigeria’s broader energy transition agenda.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who led the Nigerian delegation, stressed that the country’s participation at TICAD9 was designed to secure strategic, outcome-oriented partnerships.
According to him, the focus has shifted from “planning to implementation, from agreements to delivery, and from promises to measurable results.”
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who accompanied the president, held extensive meetings with major Japanese energy and infrastructure stakeholders, including Toshiba, Hitachi, Japan’s Transmission & Distribution Corporation, and Energy Exchange Corporation.
These engagements centered on upgrading Nigeria’s transmission network, reducing system losses, and improving operational efficiency in the power sector.
The $190 million renewable energy loan builds on Nigeria’s ongoing $750 million World Bank Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up Programme (DARES) under the Mission 300 Compact, which targets clean and reliable electricity access for over 17 million Nigerians.
According to the ministry, the loan complements the Federal Executive Council’s recent approval of a ₦19.08 billion counterpart funding package to unlock $238 million in JICA financing for the expansion of Nigeria’s national grid.
This expansion will cover the construction of over 200km of new transmission lines, including 102.95km of new 330kV double circuit lines and 104.59km of 132kV double circuit lines.
It also includes the development of four 330/132/33kV substations, two 132/33kV substations, and multiple line bay extensions.
“These investments are crucial for stabilizing Nigeria’s grid and ensuring reliable supply to homes, businesses, and industries,” Adelabu noted.
JICA’s long-term partnership with Nigeria has already produced tangible results.
Adelabu highlighted the recent commissioning of three substations in Apo (FCT), Keffi (Nasarawa State), and Apapa (Lagos State), built with a $32 million JICA grant.
The facilities are expected to significantly enhance power supply to households, industrial clusters, and critical infrastructure such as the Lagos Port.
Additionally, the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), supported by JICA, recently commissioned state-of-the-art training equipment in Abuja.
The facility is designed to upgrade the technical capacity of distribution engineers, reduce network losses, and foster long-term sector sustainability.
Despite being Africa’s largest economy, only 55–60% of Nigeria’s over 200 million population has access to electricity, much of it unreliable.
Adelabu acknowledged this gap and emphasized that the government is deploying a dual approach—expanding urban grid access while accelerating off-grid renewable energy solutions, such as solar mini-grids and standalone systems, for rural and peri-urban communities.
He expressed appreciation to JICA and the Government of Japan for their consistent support, describing them as “reliable partners in Nigeria’s energy transition journey.”
The $190 million JICA loan marks another milestone in Nigeria’s quest to achieve universal energy access, strengthen its grid, and accelerate renewable energy adoption.
With the country’s growing energy demand, experts say the new financing will not only expand infrastructure but also unlock investments in solar, wind, and hybrid energy projects across Nigeria.
Energy analysts further note that Nigeria’s alignment with international partners such as Japan and the World Bank will help the country transition toward cleaner, more sustainable power generation, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and cut carbon emissions in line with its Net Zero 2060 commitments.
As Nigeria moves from agreements to delivery, stakeholders say that implementation and transparency will be critical in ensuring that the benefits of these loans and projects are felt by ordinary citizens, especially in rural areas that have long been left behind.