Tegbe Urges Investment in Healthcare Electrification at Nigeria Power for Health Forum
The Honourable Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has called on local and international investors to embrace sustainable financing models for electrifying Nigeria’s healthcare facilities, describing the sector as one of the most compelling investment opportunities on the African continent.
Speaking at the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Forum under the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI) held in Lagos, Tegbe said reliable electricity is fundamental to healthcare delivery, not just an infrastructure add-on.
The forum, convened by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with UK PACT and hosted by the Honourable Minister of State for Health, Dr. Isiaq Salako, brought together representatives of federal and state governments, Chief Medical Directors, development partners, and private sector leaders
Tegbe commended the Ministry for convening the engagement. He disclosed that he had been a key stakeholder in NPHI since its inception, even before his appointment as Minister of Power, describing it as a personal commitment.
He stated that NPHI aligns with ongoing power sector reforms and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. The initiative, he said, 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.
Highlighting the scale of the opportunity, Tegbe pointed to over 35,000 registered health facilities across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels nationwide. He described this as a substantial pipeline of bankable projects capable of attracting capital into solar mini-grids, hybrid energy systems, battery storage, energy efficiency technologies, smart metering, facility energy management platforms, operations and maintenance services, and climate-resilient infrastructure.
Drawing on over three decades of experience advising governments on complex reforms, the Minister told investors that the strength of the framework lies in the quality of its structure, not just the ambition of its vision. He assured that 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,” he said. He added that the Electricity Act provides the regulatory foundation for structuring Power Purchase Agreements, licensing mini-grid operators, and enabling state-level participation.
Mr. Clement Ezeorah, Head of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Power, said Tegbe reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to delivering visible, measurable improvements in the power sector, with health facilities as a priority. He added that the initiative supports the Renewed Hope Agenda’s vision to position Nigeria as Africa’s destination of choice for quality healthcare.
The Honourable Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, described NPHI as a shift from donor-funded infrastructure to a sustainable Energy-as-a-Service model. Under this model, specialized providers finance, deploy, and maintain reliable power systems for health facilities, addressing energy poverty undermining operating theatres, cold chain systems, diagnostics, and emergency care.
“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,” Dr. Salako said.
