Nigeria Has Highest Number Of Citizens Without Electricity Worldwide

The population of Nigerians without access to electricity supply is the highest of all the countries of the world.

This fact is a World Bank rating of the usage of electricity globally and Nigeria ranked the least of all countries of the world.

The Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva  made this disclosure at the Society of Petroleum Engineers Lagos Annual Technical Symposium and Exhibition where he also noted that an investment of $35 billion is needed to provide access to electricity to about 759 million people without supply globally.

Chief Sylva said another $25 billion annual investment is also required to help 2.6 billion people globally to gain access to clean cooking gas between now and 2030.

The symposium had the theme: “Energy Transition in Africa: A Strategic Pathway to Net Zero”.

The Minister who was represented by his Technical Adviser, Gas and Business, Justice Derefaka, explained that “the required investment represents only a small fraction of the multi-trillion-dollar global energy investment needed overall”.

He held that it was doubtful if Africa would receive an equitable share of the global investment pool despite having a majority of people without access to clean cooking energy and electricity.

“It is well documented that Africa still has significant untapped fossil fuel reserves, which could provide much-needed foreign direct investment and export revenue”, he stated.

He pointed out that “the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has said Nigeria and other African countries will not meet the SDG 7 targets due to limited supply and access to electricity.

According to the minister, “UNECA noted that about $40 billion worth of investments per year is needed to meet the continent’s energy needs. 

“Despite the long-term and required drop in demand for fossil fuels, short-term demand and prices remain robust, providing strong commercial justification for their extraction and a need to smooth the transition.

“Undiscovered but theoretically exploitable and technically recoverable energy resources in Africa are estimated to be around 115.34 billion barrels of oil and 21.05 trillion cubic meters of gas (circa 743.4 tcf)”, he said.