REA Faces Questions Over Billions Spent on Nigeria Solar Projects

The House of Representatives has intensified scrutiny of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), demanding records on how billions of naira and hundreds of millions of dollars for solar projects were spent across Nigeria.

Lawmakers on the House Committee on Renewable Energy said they invited REA Managing Director Abba Aliyu to provide detailed explanations, but the agency did not appear as expected, prompting threats of sanctions. The committee requested procurement files, audit reports, contractor details, payment records and beneficiary locations for projects funded from federal budgets and international financing.

At the centre of the probe are major allocations tied to mini-grids, solar home systems and public-institution electrification. The committee referenced about ₦151.7 billion in appropriations for solar programmes, another ₦12 billion for the electrification of universities and teaching hospitals, and about ₦13.08 billion under the Rural Electrification Fund. It also highlighted large external financing pools linked to REA programmes, including more than $550 million from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, $750.4 million under DARES, $12.4 million from South Korea and $8.9 million from Germany and the European Union, alongside other grants.

The committee said oversight is necessary to establish what has been completed, what is still under implementation and what outcomes communities are getting from the investments. Members are also seeking clarity on whether contractors had the technical capacity required for specialised solar and hybrid installations, and whether maintenance frameworks were built into project delivery.

Electrification projects under review include federal universities and teaching hospitals in multiple states and the Federal Capital Territory, with installations expected to support laboratories, hostels, wards and research facilities. Lawmakers are asking whether those plants are currently producing expected output and whether the systems are still functioning at design capacity.

Sector analysts have repeatedly warned that renewable infrastructure can fail quickly when procurement quality is weak or maintenance funding is not sustained. Battery degradation, component mismatch and poor after-sales servicing can cut generation performance within a short period, especially in underserved locations where technical support is limited.

Beyond the REA, accountability concerns extend to other institutions in the public finance chain. These include the Federal Ministry of Power, the Bureau of Public Procurement, the Office of the Auditor-General and the Budget Office of the Federation. The wider policy question is whether federal renewable spending is being tracked in a way that allows citizens and lawmakers to see project-level results against disbursed funds.

The scrutiny also intersects with Nigeria’s climate and development commitments, especially around energy access and international partnerships. Development partners and public institutions are expected to show transparent reporting, independent verification and measurable delivery outcomes where climate-linked and concessional funds are used.

Lawmakers said the current inquiry should not be treated as political theatre but as a governance test for institutions managing large-scale public and foreign-backed energy programmes. The outcome of the probe is expected to shape demands for stronger disclosure standards, periodic performance reporting and clearer project tracking across the renewable power portfolio.

With electricity access still a major constraint for households, schools, hospitals and productive businesses, the committee’s position is that every naira and dollar committed to decentralised power must be traceable to visible, functioning infrastructure in beneficiary communities.

Analysts said one practical outcome of the investigation could be a public performance dashboard showing contract value, contractor name, installed capacity, location, commissioning date, uptime and maintenance status for each project. They also said quarterly disclosures and independent technical audits would help reduce disputes over delivery claims, strengthen confidence among financing partners and make it easier for host communities to report faults before assets fail completely.