‘Nigeria Has World’s Largest Electricity Deficit, Affects 90m Population’

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery has said Nigeria has the world’s largest electricity deficit that affects 90 million of its population.

He spoke yesterday in Abuja, at the opening session of a two-day roundtable on the Electricity Act 2023 with the theme, “Implications and Opportunities for State Electricity Markets.”

The two-day event organised by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) is funded by the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and implemented by United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructural Advisory Facility (UK- NIAF).

Montgomery who was represented by the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gill Atkinson said, “We have a new government here. It has embarked on important microeconomic reforms.

“The exchange rates and fuel subsidy are bringing short-term pain to the country and the people. But there are positive changes in the medium and long term that will help Nigeria fulfill its potential for the future.

“Part of this particularly important moment is Nigeria’s power sector. Unfortunately, the country has the world’s largest electricity deficit. This affects 90 million people. Even those Nigerians who are connected to the grid, face frequent outages and hence don’t get a reliable supply.”

Montgomery who described the Electricity Act as an important component of the current reforms noted that the most important feature of the Act is the provision to allow states to pass laws to govern the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity.

In his remarks, the Chairman of NGF and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said the forum believes in partnership and getting divergent views to boost electricity supply.