172
M. U. Ukponu et al.
careful planning, policy implementation and effective regulation. Understandably, the heavier developmental focus is directed towards Nigeria’s
oil and gas potentials because they account for 80% of the government’s
revenue base and 90% of foreign exchange earnings,
133 from which
public funds are derived to develop other economic sectors. However,
in our view, the fallout of this situation is that NREEEP appears not
to be receiving the level of government support required to significantly
improve RE access within set timelines, hence the continuous low access
to electricity in Nigeria. The Nigerian experience is reflective of the
United Nations’ projection that many African countries are unlikely to
meet the SDG7 targets by 2030 due to the quality of their policies and
their level of implementation.
134
Both points are quite instructive in the Nigerian context because it
could be counter-argued that an RE legislation (separate or integrated)
for Nigeria is not entirely necessary, the rationale being that although
EPSRA makes scant provisions for the regulation of RE, that regulatory
gap is covered by an array of RE-related NERC Regulations created by
virtue of EPSRA, e.g. CPGR, EGR, IEDN Regulations and Mini-Grid
Regulations. Therefore, Nigeria’s RE policies and regulations, devoid of
a uniform RE law, are already sufficient to cater for RE development.
This situation is not peculiar to Nigeria. For example, South Africa has
no separate or integrated RE legislation but the government’s commitment to the implementation of the Renewable Energy Independent
Power Production Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), South Africa’s
RE policy, has been yielding increased rural electrification and stimulated RE investments.
135 We observe that the case is so in South Africa
133 Chijioke Nwaozuzu, ‘Dwindling Oil Revenues: Economic Implications for Governance,
Business and Development’ (Energy Mix Report, 2018), https://www.energymixreport.com/
dwindling-oil-revenues-economic-implications-governance-business-development/; PwC, Nigeria:
Looking Beyond Oil (March 2016), https://www.pwc.com/ng/en/assets/pdf/nigeria-looking-bey
ond-oil-report.pdf.
134 United Nations, Achieving SDG 7 Targets: Policy Brief in Support of the First SDG7 Review
at the UN High-Level Political Forum 2018, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/doc
uments/18041SDG7_Policy_Brief.pdf.
135 Lido Fontana and Sharon Wing, ‘South Africa’ in Karen B Wong (ed), The Renewable Energy
Law Review (Law Business Research, 2019) 145.
M. U. Ukponu et al.
careful planning, policy implementation and effective regulation. Understandably, the heavier developmental focus is directed towards Nigeria’s
oil and gas potentials because they account for 80% of the government’s
revenue base and 90% of foreign exchange earnings,
133 from which
public funds are derived to develop other economic sectors. However,
in our view, the fallout of this situation is that NREEEP appears not
to be receiving the level of government support required to significantly
improve RE access within set timelines, hence the continuous low access
to electricity in Nigeria. The Nigerian experience is reflective of the
United Nations’ projection that many African countries are unlikely to
meet the SDG7 targets by 2030 due to the quality of their policies and
their level of implementation.
134
Both points are quite instructive in the Nigerian context because it
could be counter-argued that an RE legislation (separate or integrated)
for Nigeria is not entirely necessary, the rationale being that although
EPSRA makes scant provisions for the regulation of RE, that regulatory
gap is covered by an array of RE-related NERC Regulations created by
virtue of EPSRA, e.g. CPGR, EGR, IEDN Regulations and Mini-Grid
Regulations. Therefore, Nigeria’s RE policies and regulations, devoid of
a uniform RE law, are already sufficient to cater for RE development.
This situation is not peculiar to Nigeria. For example, South Africa has
no separate or integrated RE legislation but the government’s commitment to the implementation of the Renewable Energy Independent
Power Production Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), South Africa’s
RE policy, has been yielding increased rural electrification and stimulated RE investments.
135 We observe that the case is so in South Africa
133 Chijioke Nwaozuzu, ‘Dwindling Oil Revenues: Economic Implications for Governance,
Business and Development’ (Energy Mix Report, 2018), https://www.energymixreport.com/
dwindling-oil-revenues-economic-implications-governance-business-development/; PwC, Nigeria:
Looking Beyond Oil (March 2016), https://www.pwc.com/ng/en/assets/pdf/nigeria-looking-bey
ond-oil-report.pdf.
134 United Nations, Achieving SDG 7 Targets: Policy Brief in Support of the First SDG7 Review
at the UN High-Level Political Forum 2018, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/doc
uments/18041SDG7_Policy_Brief.pdf.
135 Lido Fontana and Sharon Wing, ‘South Africa’ in Karen B Wong (ed), The Renewable Energy
Law Review (Law Business Research, 2019) 145.