Tegbe calls for sustainable financing models to boost power supply in Nigeria’s healthcare sector 

Joseph Tegbe, Nigeria’s Minister of Power, has called on local and international investors to adopt sustainable financing models for the electrification of Nigeria’s healthcare facilities, describing the sector as one of Africa’s most compelling investment frontiers.

Speaking at the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Forum in Lagos, Tegbe emphasised that the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI) offers a massive pipeline of bankable projects across 35,000 registered primary, secondary, and tertiary health facilities.

The forum, convened by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with UK PACT, served as a high-level engagement between government officials, Chief Medical Directors, development partners, and private sector leaders.

“Reliable electricity is not merely an infrastructure requirement; it is a fundamental pillar of healthcare delivery,” Tegbe stated, noting that the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and ongoing power sector reforms.

The Minister emphasised that the initiative offers an opportunity to integrate energy planning into health infrastructure development, deploy grid enhancement and renewable hybrid systems tailored to health facilities, and strengthen coordination between power sector institutions, health authorities, regulators, and private sector partners.

He disclosed that several sub-sectors including: Solar mini-grids and hybrid energy systems, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), Smart metering and energy management platforms, climate-resilient infrastructure and specialized O&M services are ready for private capital investment.

He said, “The strength of the framework lay not in the ambition of its vision but in the quality of its structure, the Federal Government would provide commitment and inter-ministerial coordination.

“The Federal Ministry of Power is a co-driver of the initiative and is already active in the field, having deployed solar mini-grids and hybrid systems to health facilities under the World Bank-funded Nigeria Electrification Project.”

Tegbe also noted that the Electricity Act provides the regulatory foundation for structuring Power Purchase Agreements, licensing mini-grid operators, and enabling state-level participation.

He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to delivering visible, measurable improvements in the power sector, with health facilities as a priority, and expressed appreciation to investors and development partners for their continued belief in Nigeria’s future.

In his remarks, Iziaq Salako, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare described the NPHI as a shift from donor-funded infrastructure to a sustainable Energy-as-a-Service model, under which specialized providers finance, deploy and maintain reliable power systems for health facilities, addressing the energy poverty undermining operating theatres, cold chain systems, diagnostics and emergency care.

He said the initiative is built on blended financing, institutional readiness and national scalability, the framework currently targets federal tertiary hospitals, with plans to extend nationwide across primary, secondary and tertiary facilities, backed by a new governance structure to drive implementation and unlock private investment in the sector.