The World Bank says Nigeria now has the highest percentage of the population without access to electricity globally, overtaking the Democratic Republic of Congo in unreliable and widespread blackouts,
According to the bank, over twenty-five percent of Nigeria’s population has no access to electricity supply, this was stated during a virtual engagement on Power Sector Recovery Programme in Abuja.
The bank added that over 200 million Nigerian population with access to electricity had battled widespread blackouts and unreliable electricity supply for years.
The financial institution noted that the electricity supply had grown from one point one per cent yearly since 2010 but at a slow pace compared to the population growth of three per cent yearly.
Ashish Khanna, the WBG Practice Manager, West, and Central Africa Energy, in his presentation, noted, that the power sector is operationally inefficient with unreliable supply exacerbated by high losses and lack of payment discipline.
Khanna explained that many businesses had lost their grounds due to the epileptic power supply in Africa’s most populous country.
It, however, pointed out that the PRSP aimed to foster a change in the electricity situation while revealing that one point two five billion dollars was approved by the board between June 2020 and February 2021 to reset the power sector.
