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The Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has stated Nigeria's target to increase the composition of renewable energy in the nation's energy mix to 30 percent by 2030. The Minister said the aim is to diversify away from traditional energy sources and increase access to electricity.
 
Fashola made the statement at the second National Council on Power (NACOP) meeting, which held in Kaduna, the capital city of Kaduna State, from July 11-15, 2016. The NACOP adopted Nigeria's Action Agenda for the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative of the United Nations.

The SE4ALL initiative is a global agenda to achieve three goals by 2030. The goals are: i) to ensure universal access to modern energy services; ii) double global energy efficiency; iii) double the share of renewable energy in the global mix. With the adoption of the SE4ALL, Nigeria is set to join other countries that are implementing the Action Agenda.  

Each country's Action Agenda provides a long-term vision that incorporates the sector-wide plans and efforts towards achieving the three goals of SE4ALL.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing said the SE4ALL Action Agenda to be implemented by Nigeria contains practical steps to address the nation’s electricity challenges, which have been exacerbated due to the attacks on gas pipelines by Niger Delta militants.

The Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, (Power), Louis Edozien, at the NACOP meeting said Nigeria has a lot of renewable energy sources which will increase power generation, if they are well harnessed. He said the country has an abundance of coal, wind, solar resources that can significantly add to the energy mix and reduce the dependence on fossil fuel.

Goal 7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. The SE4ALL Action Agenda is designed to coordinate national responses to achieve this goal.

According to a statement by the African Development Bank on Wednesday, the Bank has responded to a request from the Nigerian government to provide technical assistance and support for the development of the Nigeria SE4ALL Investment Prospectus in collaboration with the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and the European Commission with a view to mobilize investments from the public and private sectors.

On its part, the AfDB hosts the SE4ALL Africa Hub to implement a Green Mini-Grids Africa Market Development Programme to support the scaling up of investments in commercially viable green mini-grid projects through a broad range of interventions, including removing market barriers.

The 2nd NACOP meeting was organized by the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing under the theme: “Achieving Incremental, then Stable, and then Uninterrupted Power.” The Council is the highest decision-making body and it consists of policymakers, Members of the National Assembly, donor agencies, CEOs of the power companies, among other professionals. The inaugural Council meeting of NACOP was held in 2014 in Abuja.