Yemisi Izuora
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), has launched a strong campaign calling on industry operators to increase efficiency by opting for broader renewable energy adoption.
The Director General (DG) of the MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said increased adoption of renewable energy solutions will address unreliable electricity supply and rising self-generation costs confronting manufacturers.
The DG’s remarks follows comments by the Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe, who said Nigeria stands to save $121bn in fuel costs by transitioning to a power generation mix comprising 90 per cent renewable energy, describing the projected savings as a major economic benefit for businesses, households and the government.
The Minister joined the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry to advocate increased private sector participation in renewable energy investments and electricity market reforms as part of efforts to improve industrial competitiveness and accelerate economic growth.
Speaking at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s 2026 Renewable Energy Outlook Conference in Lagos on Wednesday, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the country’s Energy Transition Plan positioned renewable energy as an economic strategy rather than merely a climate commitment.
According to him, “The ETP projects that transitioning to 90 per cent renewable energy in our power mix will yield fuel savings of $121bn. These are savings that will accrue to Nigerian businesses, Nigerian consumers, and the Nigerian state. The additional capital expenditure required, approximately $10bn annually above business-as-usual, is not a burden to be mourned; it is an investment to be mobilised.”
The conference, themed “Nigeria’s Energy Transition Agenda: Power Sector Transformation for Industrial Competitiveness”, brought together government officials and private sector stakeholders to discuss the future of renewable energy and power sector reforms.
Tegbe said the Energy Transition Plan targets a total installed electricity generation capacity of 277 gigawatts by 2060, with solar energy expected to dominate the country’s future power landscape.
“The ETP outlines the need for a total installed power capacity of 277 gigawatts by 2060. Solar energy will be the dominant force in this new landscape.
Nigeria and South Africa led Africa in solar power growth in 2025, and that leadership position is not accidental,” he said.
He added that Nigeria’s vast solar resources, expanding private investment and supportive government policies would help sustain the country’s leadership position in renewable energy development.
The Minister noted that natural gas would remain a critical transition fuel as the country scales up renewable energy deployment.
“With proven reserves of approximately 202 trillion cubic feet, Nigeria possesses the gas endowment to maintain reliable baseload capacity whilst renewables are scaled.
Gas is not our destination. But it is an indispensable companion on the journey,” he said.
Tegbe urged manufacturers, processors, logistics operators and technology firms to embrace renewable energy solutions and take advantage of opportunities created by the Electricity Act 2023.
“I say to the manufacturers, the processors, the logistics operators, and the technology firms in this room: the era of the diesel generator as your primary power source is drawing to a close. Embedded generation, industrial mini-grids, renewable energy procurement agreements, and direct connections to renewable independent power producers are now legally enabled under the Electricity Act 2023,” he said.
The minister disclosed that the President Bola Tinubu administration’s energy reforms had attracted more than $2bn in new private sector investments, while sector revenues almost doubled between 2023 and 2025 from about N850bn to over N1.5tn.
He also called on the organised private sector to support ongoing reforms through advocacy and active participation in state electricity market consultations.
“We need the private sector to participate actively in state electricity market consultations, ensuring that tariff frameworks, grid access rules, and renewable energy procurement mechanisms are commercially sound,” Tegbe stated.
Also speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, said renewable energy must move beyond rural electrification and become a key driver of industrial growth, manufacturing expansion and digital infrastructure development.
Aliyu said the global economy was becoming increasingly electricity-intensive due to the growth of artificial intelligence, data centres, electric mobility and advanced manufacturing.
“The future economy will be electricity-intensive, and countries that cannot provide reliable, affordable and clean power will struggle to compete,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria can use renewable energy to strengthen manufacturing, create jobs, deepen exports and position itself as a regional clean energy hub if the transition is properly managed.
He said mini-grids, solar-plus-storage systems and distributed energy resources should now be regarded as industrial infrastructure capable of powering markets, agro-processing clusters, technology parks, manufacturing corridors and commercial hubs.
“A mini-grid that powers homes changes lives. But a mini-grid that powers homes, a rice mill, a cold room, a welding cluster, a clinic, a digital services hub and a market changes an economy. That is the shift REA is driving, from energy access to productive power,” Aliyu said.
The REA boss further noted that manufacturers’ reliance on diesel generators continued to raise production costs, weaken competitiveness and constrain expansion.
He urged policymakers and investors to accelerate the deployment of solar energy, mini-grids and distributed renewable power systems while ensuring proper regulation, grid integration and market coordination.
Aliyu said the Electricity Act 2023 and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s Mini-Grid Regulations 2026 had expanded opportunities for commercially viable distributed energy projects and private sector investment across the country.
The LCCI conference concluded with calls for stronger collaboration between government and the private sector to unlock investment, improve energy reliability and support Nigeria’s transition to a more competitive, renewable-powered economy.
Ajayi-Kadir said affordable and reliable energy was indispensable to industrial development and economic transformation, but manufacturers had continued to bear the burden of inadequate public power supply.
“In Nigeria, however, manufacturers continue to grapple with the twin challenge of unreliable public electricity supply and the escalating cost of self-generation through diesel, gas and other alternative energy sources,” he said.
He said the persistent energy deficit had weakened manufacturers’ competitiveness, discouraged investment, raised production costs and constrained the growth and resilience of the sector.
The DG, said the deployment of renewable energy infrastructure offered a practical pathway towards building a more energy-resilient economy and reducing the pressure of high energy costs on businesses.
He said investments in clean energy would support industrial productivity, strengthen quality assurance systems and improve the competitiveness of Made-in-Nigeria products and services.
He added that the project reflected the need for public institutions and private-sector operators to embrace innovation and sustainability in responding to Nigeria’s energy challenge.
According to him, the transition to energy-efficient and renewable technologies would help reduce operating costs, attract investment and support the country’s climate-resilience objectives.
He said MAN remained committed to working with relevant stakeholders to advance policies and initiatives that would promote industrial growth, innovation and competitiveness.