Former Power Minister Barth Nnaji Attributes Decade Of Energy Decay To Halted Investment Frameworks

Former Minister Barth Nnaji warns that Nigeria has not financed a major power plant in 11 years. Read his take on policy shifts and the energy crisis.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 28, 2026, 4:42 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from The Nation Newspaper

Dismantled Financing Frameworks Stifle Sector Growth

Professor Barth Nnaji, a former Minister of Power, has identified the absence of robust investment as the primary driver behind the persistent decay of Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure. During his address at the 19th International Conference of the Nigerian Association of Energy Economics, Nnaji revealed that the nation has failed to finance a single new major power plant in over a decade. He attributed this stagnation to the dismantling of a specific partial risk guarantee instrument, a framework originally designed to make domestic energy projects bankable for international lenders and private investors.

Impact Of Policy Inconsistency On Global Capital

The former minister detailed how the collaborative framework between the power and finance ministries had initially succeeded in attracting significant global interest. By de-risking investments through government backed guarantees, Nigeria had positioned itself as an attractive destination for large scale generation projects. However, Nnaji noted that these mechanisms were abruptly abandoned following a change in government, which led to a swift withdrawal of international financiers. This policy reversal, he argued, has left the country struggling with weak infrastructure development and a chronic inability to expand its generation capacity.

Bottlenecks Surrounding Strategic Hydroelectric Assets

The discussion also touched upon the protracted delays hindering critical national assets, specifically the Mambilla hydropower project. Nnaji highlighted that financing bottlenecks remain a significant hurdle for such strategic infrastructure, preventing the country from diversifying its energy mix effectively. He explained that without a stable and predictable financial environment, complex projects of this magnitude will continue to face setbacks, further delaying the delivery of stable electricity to the Nigerian populace and the broader industrial economy.