Lagos: Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, along with key economic stakeholders, has advocated for an intensified collaboration between Nigeria and Britain in the energy sector to bolster energy security and expedite Nigeria’s transition to cleaner energy sources. This appeal was made during the 26th Annual Lecture Series of the Nigeria-Britain Association (NBA) held in Lagos.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the event, themed ‘Global Energy Crises and the Transition to Green Power: Implications for Nigeria and Britain’, highlighted the necessity of practical cooperation in energy, trade, technology, and skills between the two nations. Sanwo-Olu, represented by Mr. Kamaldeen Balogun, Managing Director of the Lagos State Electrification Agency, emphasized the significance of Britain’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan and Nigeria’s energy challenges, underscoring energy security as a cornerstone of economic sovereignty.
Sanwo-Olu detailed Lagos State’s adoption of embedded power generation to provide reliable electricity closer to demand points, revealing that power purchase agreements had been signed, projecting generation capacity to escalate to between 2,000 megawatts and 4,000 megawatts within two to three years. He noted ongoing projects, such as a 12.16-megawatt plant powering the Lagos Water Corporation and a 30-megawatt embedded plant under construction in Victoria Island, aimed at eliminating over 3,000 diesel generators in the area.
He further highlighted a joint study with C40 Cities, which indicated Lagos’s potential to generate about 25 gigawatts of local renewable energy by 2050, primarily from solar, with solar power combined with battery storage potentially meeting around two-thirds of the state’s projected mid-century energy demand. Sanwo-Olu called on British partners to support the creation of a dedicated Lagos clean-power investment vehicle, backed by British institutional capital and Nigeria’s private sector, to finance the next phase of embedded and renewable power generation.
Mr. Akin Olateru, Chairman of OMNI-BLU Aviation Ltd., remarked on the global energy system’s transformation, driven by the need to balance security, affordability, and sustainability. He identified gas as Nigeria’s ‘genuine bridge fuel’ and urged the Federal Government to accelerate domestic gas production, expand renewable solutions, and empower states and private companies in electricity generation and distribution.
Olateru proposed a formal Nigeria-UK energy security dialogue to exchange expertise in grid management and energy transition, as well as a joint Nigeria-UK green investment facility to support early-stage clean-energy ventures. He advocated for a skills and technology transfer partnership to develop local capacity, suggesting that energy transition should create jobs through opportunities in solar assembly, electric vehicle manufacturing, and green hydrogen.
Mr. Ademola Sanya, President of the Nigeria-Britain Association, emphasized the evolving role of energy as a determinant of economic competitiveness, national security, and quality of life. He highlighted the vulnerability of economies to disrupted energy supplies and urged Nigeria to focus on building a reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy system. Sanya identified the energy transition as a significant opportunity for Nigeria-Britain relations, offering prospects in investment, renewable energy, technology, and more.