RAMCO is the best thing to happen to Nigeria’s electricity sector — Fayose

…REA MD says RAMCO will unlock fresh capital for sustainable renewable assets

…FG targets up to 6,500MW generation by year-end

Ayodele Fayose, the Chairman of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), has described the Renewable Asset Management Company (RAMCO) as the best thing to happen to Nigeria’s electricity sector.

Speaking in Abuja at the launch of RAMCO, Fayose, who is former Governor of Ekiti State, commended Abba Aliyu, the REA Managing Director and his management team for upholding a legacy of continuity.

He noted that it is not enough to simply build new projects; their maintenance and operational continuity are equally critical.

Fayose also emphasised the need for a shift in public attitude, stating that infrastructure will last significantly longer when Nigerians adopt an ownership mindset and protect public utilities.

Delivering the keynote address, Joseph Tegbe, the Minister of Power, stated that renewable energy is not a peripheral component in Nigeria’s energy mix.

He announced that the government would build mini-grids in areas facing transmission deficits, emphasising that RAMCO was established to deliver sustainability and reliability while bridging the gap between accessibility and long-term viability.

The minister stated that a technical audit is currently underway on infrastructure over 42 years old, noting that these outdated facilities will be replaced with modern assets in a matter of weeks.

Highlighting asset optimisation through aggregation, he explained that energy resources will be strategically linked to high-demand clusters.

He added that the Federal Government would revisit the East-West supergrid project to build resilience into the national grid.

The minister further revealed that the Federal Government is targeting power generation of 6,500MW by year end and 8,000MW by the end of 2026.

He stated that 21 dormant dams would be put to productive use, noting that those identified along the Sokoto-Badagry expressway corridor will be made commercially viable.

“Public investment must be matched by discipline to protect the assets,” Tegbe stressed.

He further tasked the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) with prioritising grid and transmission assets, dispelling notions that the assets would be sold off and clarifying instead that they would be placed on a strong balance sheet to guarantee optimal utilisation.

Earlier, Abba Aliyu, Managing Director/CEO of the REA, described RAMCO as the future of productive renewable energy asset utilisation.

He highlighted institutional continuity across both the Ministry and the Agency as the foundation for bringing the initiative to fruition.

He explained that RAMCO would not burden the national treasury, but would instead unlock fresh private capital and revenue streams to ensure the long-term sustainability of off-grid infrastructure.

“RAMCO will reduce Nigeria’s dependence on government budgets, sovereign borrowing, and development finance to expand electricity access,” Aliyu said.

Aliyu said the new model would also enable existing renewable energy assets to generate predictable revenues that could be aggregated and potentially leveraged to attract private capital for additional infrastructure.

He added that RAMCO would enable capital deployed into mature renewable energy assets to be refinanced or recycled under robust commercial and regulatory frameworks, freeing up liquidity for new projects.

Beyond asset management, Aliyu said RAMCO would support Nigeria’s efforts to develop local renewable energy manufacturing capacity.

He said REA had entered into a joint development arrangement with MOFI and InfraCorp involving German manufacturers for the production of solar modules, batteries, inverters, street lighting equipment and solar asset recycling.

Also speaking, Armstrong Takang, Managing Director/CEO of MOFI, highlighted the critical role RAMCO would play in actualizing Nigeria’s target of a one-trillion-dollar economy.

He explained that the country must look beyond its debt profile and properly account for its capital assets to boost public revenue and enhance fiscal transparency.

Similarly, Lazarus Angbazo, Managing Director of InfraCorp, praised RAMCO as a landmark achievement of collaboration adding that a portfolio of well-managed assets will unlock asset-backed financing, credit enhancement, and long-term institutional capital.

“Infrastructure does not create value simply because it has been commissioned; it creates value because it continues to work.

“RAMCO exists to provide stewardship of Nigeria’s renewable energy assets by maintaining, optimizing, and restoring underperforming systems so they continue to deliver services. It represents a major opportunity for the private sector and will cultivate a competitive renewable energy economy,” Angbazo stated.

Taminu Yakubu, Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, also welcomed the initiative.

He noted that RAMCO provides investors with a transparent portfolio backed by sound lifecycle planning and credible performance tracking, firmly positioning Nigeria as a serious destination for global renewable energy investments.

Delivering his remarks, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, described reliable electricity as a non-negotiable clinical input critical to saving lives, powering neonatal incubators, operating theatres, and cold-chain vaccine storage.

Highlighting that between 60 and 70% of Nigeria’s public health facilities face severe outages or complete energy poverty with teaching hospitals spending up to half their operating budgets on diesel, Salako hailed RAMCO as the missing operational link needed to fulfill the Presidential Nigeria Power-for-Health Initiative, which aims to electrify at least 30% of health facilities by the end of 2027.

Salako explained that over 30% of solar systems installed in Primary Health Care Centres historically fail within three years due to a lack of maintenance budgets, spare parts, and post-commissioning ownership.

To solve this, he proposed four key synergies: designating health facilities as a distinct asset class within RAMCO, integrating RAMCO’s commercial asset management with hospital-level energy teams, unifying energy audit data, and directing a portion of recycled capital to aggregate and sustain off-grid primary healthcare centers.