The Nigeria Government has announced plans to convert 21 idle dams identified along the Sokoto-Badagry Road corridor into commercially viable small-scale hydropower projects as part of efforts to expand electricity generation and maximize existing infrastructure.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at the launch of the Renewable Energy Asset Management Company.
Tegbe said the discovery of the 21 dams during the ongoing construction of the Sokoto-Badagry Road raised concerns over the prolonged underutilisation of potentially valuable power infrastructure.
He explained that the Federal Government was developing a policy framework for small-scale hydropower projects that would enable the dams to be brought into productive use.
According to the minister, the initiative is part of President Bola Tinubu’s directive to identify and maximise the value of existing public assets rather than allowing them to remain idle.
Tegbe said the government was also identifying stranded and underutilised power assets across the country and exploring ways to connect available electricity to areas with significant demand, including Lagos, Kano and Borno.
He added that the Federal Government was implementing measures to strengthen the national grid by focusing on three major energy zones and corridors: the Lagos axis, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridor, and the Enugu-Port Harcourt corridor.
The minister disclosed that technical audits were currently being conducted along these corridors to determine the condition of existing electricity infrastructure.
The audits, he said, would assess critical components such as insulators, conductors, relays and transmission towers, with plans to replace damaged or obsolete equipment.
Tegbe noted that some of the country’s electricity infrastructure had been in service for decades, making rehabilitation and replacement essential to improving the reliability of the power system.
He stressed that the government had no plans to sell the public assets. Instead, the administration intends to put them to productive use and leverage their value to attract financing for further infrastructure development.
The minister said the new renewable asset management model represented a shift in the government’s approach to public infrastructure, moving beyond simply constructing and commissioning projects to ensuring their effective management, maintenance and long-term sustainability.
He acknowledged the longstanding challenge of Nigeria having substantial energy resources and installed power infrastructure while still struggling to provide reliable electricity.
Tegbe said the government’s objective was to transform electricity infrastructure into a driver of economic growth, industrialisation and national competitiveness.
He also expressed confidence that the ongoing reforms would help address persistent grid instability and improve electricity supply to Nigerians.
As part of its targets, the Federal Government plans to increase the country’s electricity wheeling capacity from approximately 5,000 megawatts currently to 6,500MW by the end of 2026 and 8,000MW by the end of 2027.
The planned conversion of the 21 idle dams, alongside investments in grid rehabilitation and renewable energy asset management, is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s power infrastructure and improve the efficient utilisation of existing energy resources.
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