By Abiola Olawale
Eminent entrepreneur- philanthropist and Chairman of the United Bank for Africa Group (UBA), Mr Tony Elumelu, has issued a clarion call for accelerated investments in Nigeria’s energy sector to address what he described as the dire electricity access gap affecting 70% of the nation’s population.
Speaking at a high-level African Caucus Meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Bangui, Central African Republic, Elumelu, who is also the chairman of Heirs Holdings underlined the point that rapid, scalable solutions are critical to unlocking economic growth and improving quality of life for millions.
He noted that Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation is grappling with a chronic energy crisis, with over 140 million citizens lacking reliable electricity.
According to the business mogul, this shortfall stifles businesses, hampers healthcare delivery, and limits educational opportunities in Africa.
He said: “If we are to industrialize, create jobs, and participate meaningfully in the global AI revolution, we must invest aggressively in energy — from renewables to cleaner gas-based solutions.
“Imagine what Nigeria’s economy could become with 100,000 megawatts of reliable, affordable energy. That is the scale of transformation we need. And the story is not different across Africa.
“Let me begin with infrastructure. Across our continent, we face a deep and persistent infrastructure gap. From roads to ports, power to internet connectivity – we lag. We cannot achieve prosperity without the foundations of modern development. Without addressing these gaps, we cannot unlock the growth and prosperity our people deserve.”
The billionaire investment expert and chairman of Tony Elumelu Foundation(TEF) also stressed the importance of the private sector to national development.
“Through our investments in Transcorp and Heirs Energies, we are working to solve this challenge – generating power, exporting it through the West African Power Pool, and using gas from our oil operations to power our plants,” he added.
