…Nasarawa has the highest number of mini-grids in Nigeria-REA
By Johnson Umishi
Governor Abdullahi Sule has promised tax holidays for investors in the renewable energy sector coming into Nasarawa State, stressing that his administration has created an enabling business environment for businesses to thrive.
Governor Sule made this known while delivering a special address at the roundtable organised by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) in collaboration with the Nasarawa State Government, which held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on Monday.
The Governor used the opportunity to highlight steps taken by his administration to make investment attractive for investors in Nasarawa State.
“Most of what we do for the protection of investment in Nasarawa State, are backed by law. We sponsored the executive bills to protect investments. We worked very hard to ensure we have peace and security in Nasarawa State. If you are looking for investors and you know how to look for investors, you must work very hard to have peace. Because every investor wants to hear security first.
“We have a law in Nasarawa State that clearly states that we have 5 percent of our IGR is going to go into de-risking any investment coming into Nasarawa State. This 5 percent that goes to de-risking, part is also used in case, there is need to provide infrastructure, road, water supply or even power,” he stated.
He promised special tax holiday especially for investors coming into the state to invest in renewable energy, reiterating the determination of his administration to protect investments coming to Nasarawa State.
“There is a special tax holiday for renewable energy because it is a win-win situation for the investors and for our own communities that are benefitting.
“This is in addition to the fact that we have unwavering commitment as an administration to ensure that whatever you are coming to do in Nasarawa State, we are going to hand hold you and make sure that everything, whether it is by law, or by our own efforts, that your investment is protected,” he said.
Governor Sule said his administration came with a vision to transform Nasarawa State, as encapsulated in the Nasarawa State Economic Development Strategy (NEDS).
He pointed out that one of the key policy thrust of his administration is to look at areas where Nasarawa State has competitive advantage.
He said Nasarawa State is ideal for investment in renewable energy because of the tremendous potentials in the area of lithium.
“The biggest lithium processing factory is in Nasarawa State. By July, we will commission another factory that is three times the biggest lithium processing company. There are plans to build another 15m metric tons capacity factory. 5m capacity,” he said.
The Governor added that, presently his administration is constructing a World Bank funded Multi-door Court House for conflict resolution, assuring investors that conflict on land and tax issues would not be resolved through normal courts but through the specialised Multi-door Court House.
He further assured investors coming into the state of readily available trained and certified technicians to work in their companies.
“One of the things is that I actually started my education as a technician, as a welder, before I became a CNC machinist and the rest of that. As you see me, shielded arc metal welding, oxyacetelline welding, once I finish from Governor, I am going into welding. Because of that, we decided to make skills acquisition in Nasarawa State, something of pride.
“We built one of the most standard technical institutions according to the NBTE. In fact, most of these big companies that are carrying out their training even here in Abuja, they train them in Nasarawa at that particular institution. Our major concern is that all these companies that are coming, we produce the technicians who can work for them,” he said.
He disclosed plans by his administration to generate one kilowatts of power at the newly constructed state secretariat complex to make the facility entirely green.
Governor Sule said one of the reasons why Nasarawa State has the highest number of mini-grids in the country was because the people of the state are willing to pay for power.
He commended the Rural Electrification Agency for its detailed strategy to electrify the country.
Setting the tone for the roundtable, Abba Aliyu, MD/CEO, Rural Electrification Agency (REA), said that the Electricity Act signed in 2023 has changed the entire dynamics of the power sector.
“The Act has disrupted the entire sector by deepening the opportunity for private sector and subnationals to participate in the entire electricity value chain. It has given the subnationals the right to participate from generation, transmission, distribution, and others. Beyond these, the act has also emphasized the need for renewable energy to be used to upgrade the electricity access gap,” he said.
The REA boss said his agency is also saddled with the responsibility of deceloping an electrification strategy and implementation plan, which he added formed the basis for organising the roundtable.
He disclosed that 86m Nigerians lack access to electricity, the highest number in the world, with 22m people and residential households that need to be electrified.
He commended Nasarawa State for being the state with the highest number of mini-grids in Nigeria, saying REA has conducted its research to confirm the electricity needs of every state.
“We assessed each state on its ability and readiness to achieve hundred per cent electrification. We developed a number of criteria, and we assessed this and Nasarawa State is one of the states that we assessed, and we are going to present to you the result of that assessment. How the states will move forward,” he said.
He, however, identified low budgetary allocation for electrification projects and dearth of technical manpower as peculiar challenges that would need to be addressed in Nasarawa State.
On her part, Engr. Doris Uboh, Executive Director, Rural Electrification Fund, said the agency is funded by a USD750m World Bank facility geared towards the electrification of rural areas in the country.
Uboh congratulated Governor Sule for creating an enabling environment and ease of doing business in Nasarawa State.
According to her, it is not by accident that the most number of mini-grids are found in the state.
Congratulations on creating an enabling environment and ease of doing business in Nasarawa State. Because it is not by accident that the most number of mini-grids are found in your state. We collected data from across every state in Nigeria.
“It’s because you made it easy for people to come in there to work and create wealth for the local communities. I hope more states will equally follow your lead. Because when they do that, it makes our job easier, they make it easier for us to sell these pitches. If there is nothing to market, it is very difficult. But when you make it easy, it becomes easier for us to market a particular state,” she said.
