India To Support Nigeria With Technology, Expertise In Power Sector

India has offered to assist Nigeria with technology and expertise to revive its challenged power sector to ensure adequate electricity supply to drive industrialisation, create jobs and make the Nigerian economy competitive.

The Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Benin and the ECOWAS region, Abhishek Singh, said this in Abuja at the India-Nigeria Power Forum hosted by the High Commission on Friday, stressing that reliable electricity was fundamental to Nigeria’s industrial ambitions.

The envoy admonished Nigeria to learn from India’s experience in power-sector regulation and development, stressing that the Indian government can deploy its technology and expertise in generation, transmission and distribution in Nigeria.

He added that Nigeria and India enjoy robust bilateral relations, which could provide a platform to translate the longstanding relationship between the two countries into practical solutions to one of Nigeria’s most pressing economic challenges.

The forum brought together more than 60 power-sector experts and stakeholders from government and industry to explore areas of cooperation and potential solutions to Nigeria’s electricity deficit, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Power, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Energy Commission of Nigeria, and the Rural Electrification Agency.

The private sector was also represented by companies and industry players, including SkipperSeil, Simba Group and Africa Industries, among others.

The forum also created a platform for direct engagement among policymakers, industry experts and private-sector stakeholders on the practical requirements for improving Nigeria’s electricity system.

The broad participation reflected the growing urgency of finding sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s power challenges, particularly as businesses continue to require dependable electricity to sustain production and investment.

Singh’s proposal places India’s experience at the centre of a possible new phase of bilateral cooperation, with emphasis on strengthening the entire power value chain rather than focusing exclusively on electricity generation.

The Envoy’s initiative is billed to scale up opportunities for Nigerian institutions and private-sector operators to gain access to technical knowledge, technology and regulatory lessons from India’s power-sector experience.