Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, has called on the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to strengthen collaboration to enhance local production of electricity components, reduce dependence on imports, and conserve foreign exchange.

Adelabu made the call on Tuesday during a meeting with ECN management at his Abuja office, emphasizing that closer synergy between the agencies would require coordinated research, effective data collection, and joint planning frameworks. According to him, these steps are crucial to advancing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s power sector reform agenda.

“Nigeria’s power sector must move beyond import dependence. By manufacturing meters and other critical components locally, we can conserve foreign exchange and strengthen the sector’s resilience,” Adelabu said.

He lamented that despite multiple reforms since privatisation in 2013, the sector still faces structural challenges, including weak infrastructure, inadequate data management, and limited local manufacturing capacity.

Adelabu stressed the importance of reliable data for sector planning, noting that the absence of accurate information hampers effective decision-making. “We are establishing a central data pool to capture inputs from all stakeholders, including generation and distribution companies. The ECN must be fully integrated into this initiative,” he said.

The minister also directed that ECN be incorporated into the Power Sector Working Group, which meets quarterly, highlighting that the commission’s research mandate is essential to sector-wide decisions.

In response, ECN Director-General, Dr. Mustapha Abdullahi, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to collaborating with the Ministry of Power and other agencies to achieve President Tinubu’s vision of leveraging the power sector for Nigeria’s economic growth.