Nigeria’s electricity shortage could become a major driver of investment and economic growth if the country repositions power supply as a key part of its digital and industrial development, the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, has said.
Aliyu made the argument in an article titled From Megawatts to Prosperity: Rural Electrification in the Age of AI, where he highlighted the growing link between electricity supply and the expansion of artificial intelligence, data centres and other digital businesses.
He said the increasing power requirements of technology companies presented Nigeria with an opportunity to attract fresh investment by providing reliable and affordable electricity to businesses that depend heavily on energy.
According to him, electricity should no longer be treated only as a social-development necessity but also as infrastructure capable of supporting economic activity, digital transformation and national competitiveness.
Aliyu pointed to the rapid increase in electricity consumption by data centres worldwide. He cited International Energy Agency projections that global data-centre power demand could rise to about 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, nearly twice current consumption.
He argued that countries able to provide dependable and competitively priced electricity would be better positioned to attract technology companies, investment and high-value jobs.
The REA chief noted that major technology firms, including Meta, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, OpenAI and xAI, were increasingly making arrangements to secure dependable energy for their computing operations.
He said Nigeria could adopt a similar approach by developing electricity systems around major users such as data centres, telecommunications companies, universities, manufacturing clusters, industrial parks and mining operations.
Aliyu stressed that the effectiveness of the power sector should not be measured simply by the amount of generation capacity installed. Instead, attention should be placed on how much reliable electricity reaches businesses and how much economic activity it generates.
He also called for a combination of energy solutions, including solar power, battery storage, gas-fired generation, the national grid and demand-management systems.
The REA boss said the country should avoid focusing on one energy source at the expense of others, arguing that the priority should be dependable and affordable electricity.
He further identified transmission networks, transformers, substations, storage facilities and interconnection capacity as critical areas requiring attention, noting that generating electricity would have limited economic value if it could not be delivered to consumers.
Aliyu proposed the creation of Nigerian Digital Energy Zones, where electricity generation, storage, digital infrastructure and productive businesses could be developed within the same geographical areas.
He said such a model could enable Nigeria to bypass some traditional infrastructure limitations while creating new opportunities for investment and employment.
According to him, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence is making access to electricity an increasingly important factor in determining where digital companies establish operations.
He warned that countries with skilled technology workers but inadequate power infrastructure could struggle to benefit fully from the emerging AI economy, while energy-rich countries could use reliable electricity as a competitive advantage.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the Federal Government was preparing to invest in critical electricity infrastructure to meet emerging demand from artificial intelligence and data-centre operations.
Tegbe identified the Lekki corridor in Lagos as one of the areas where demand from AI and data centres was expected to grow significantly.
He said future power investments would increasingly target locations where electricity supply could support production, attract investment, create jobs and generate wider economic value.
“The biggest demand for electricity going forward, people don’t know, is AI and data centres. Their demand is huge,” Tegbe said.
