Stakeholders in Nigeria’s energy sector have said that moving from broad policy declarations to project-level preparation is critical, if the nation must attract the needed capital for its energy future.
Speaking at the sustainable energy summit organised by BudgIT, in Abuja on Wednesday, Ibrahim Shelleng, senior special assistant to the President on Climate finance & stakeholder engagement, noted that while Nigeria does not lack energy policies, ambition, natural resources, or investment opportunities, it lacks sufficiently reliable bridge between policy commitments and investable transactions.
Shellenge explained that for millions of Nigerians, the energy transition is not an abstract debate about technology or emissions but about the impact it has on livelihoods, businesses and the overal Nigerian ecomomy.
“It is about whether a child can study at night; whether a primary healthcare centre can safely store vaccines; whether a farmer can preserve produce; and whether a small business can operate without spending a disproportionate share of its income on diesel.
“For our industries, energy is the difference between competitiveness and decline. For investors, it is the foundation of every productive sector. And for government, it is central to employment, economic diversification, national security and inclusive growth,” he said.
Shellenge said Nigeria’s energy future must therefore achieve three objectives simultaneously: expand access, support economic growth and progressively reduce emissions.
He stressed that Nigeria has not been able to attract much of the avalaible capital for energy development due to inability to translate policy commitments into properly prepaid investment programs.
Shellenge said that closing the gap between policy and investment will therefore require deliberate action in converting national ambition into a prioritised and transparent pipeline of bankable projects.
” A policy announcement is not a bankable project. Investors require feasibility studies, credible demand assessments, permits, land documentation, environmental safeguards, reliable financial models, clear revenue arrangements and identifiable mechanisms for managing risk.
“Also, investors frequently encounter regulatory uncertainty and institutional fragmentation. Where responsibilities overlap, approvals are slow or policy signals are inconsistent, investors either price in additional risk or take their capital elsewhere.
“Third, the high cost of capital undermines otherwise viable projects. Currency risk, inflation, limited access to long-term naira financing and the cost of project development can make sustainable-energy investments uncompetitive before construction even begins, he said.
In his remarks, Vahyala Kwaga, BudgIT’s country director, said that it is becoming increasingly competitive to attract investment in the oil and gas sector while investment in green energy continues to grow rapidly.
According to him, total investment in clean energy grew 10 times between 2019–2024. He also added that over the same period, almost no capital went to Nigerian gas power.
“Nigerian firms received a fifth of all African minigrid financing between 2019 and 2023. By 2023, Nigeria was the world’s fifth-largest recipient of International Public Finance for clean energy, netting $829 million for 42 projects and in 2024; the country became the number ten recipient of foreign investment for renewables.
“These trends are critical for Nigeria’s economic future, as the effects of climate change continue to cause havoc across the country. These are critical moments in Nigeria’s evolving history and the decisions and actions we take today have implications for our future,” he said.
Idris Kuforiji, senior energy economist, at Nigeria Governor’s Forum, said that significant financing gaps remain across generation, transmission, distribution and distributed renewables.
He explained that investors seek regulatory certainty, bankable projects and de-risking instruments. “Project development bottlenecks, payment security concerns, and implementation challenges slow the conversion of reforms into investments.”
“The gap is increasingly about implementation, risk allocation and project readiness,” he said.
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