The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has revealed that out of the total households in Nigeria connected to the National grid, 85.2 percent are on estimated billing.
Only 14.8 percent are on prepaid billing.
The bureau also revealed that the average monthly expenditure of households on electricity was estimated at ₦4,155.8 in the period under review.
The Statistician General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer, NBS, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, disclosed this while speaking on the Nigeria Residential Energy Demand-Side Survey, NREDSS, 2024 Report in Abuja.
Prince Adeniran noted that over 58 percent of households are connected to the national grid across the nine states surveyed, and 86.6 percent had electricity supply during the reference period.
According to him, the collaborative initiative, involving NBS, the Ministry of Power, the Energy Commission of Nigeria, ECN; the International Energy Agency IEA, and the European Union, EU, was commissioned to assess and estimate the energy demand in the residential sector for the 2024 reference period.
He added that the survey also collected other valuable information that gave insights into household energy usage patterns for cooking, lighting, and cooling.
“This is a very important exercise coming at this critical period in Nigeria, when energy demand, usage, and pricing have all been major topics of discussion in recent years,” he said.
He noted that the insights contained in this report provide sound evidence for policymakers, operators, and the general public to apply in these discussions, even as the government seeks better outcomes for the energy sector as a whole.
He pointed out that access to reliable and affordable energy is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of economic growth.
Adeniran added that the residential sector, which encompasses our homes, informal household businesses, and communities, is a major consumer of energy.
He further noted that understanding the patterns, trends, and challenges within this sector is essential for developing effective policies and strategies to meet the nation’s energy needs.
”As the Coordinator of the national statistical system, it is a core part of our mandate to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to produce data that meet the needs of users both within and outside the country.
“It is in this regard that NBS collaborated with the partners on this project to provide the leadership and technical expertise for the conduct of this exercise, to address residential energy demand in Nigeria,” Statistician General said
He said the main objective for the conduct of the survey, which was conducted in nine states as a pilot case study, is borne out of the need to have a comprehensive understanding of energy consumption patterns among Nigerian households.
Adeniram stressed that through this survey, “we have gathered valuable data on a range of factors.”
Consumption patterns
They include energy consumption patterns, access to electricity, energy affordability, and energy efficiency, adding that insights gained from this survey will inform Nigeria’s policymaking and planning efforts.
Prince Adeniran who shared some of the key highlights from the survey, said about 41 percent of households reported purchasing fuelwood, closely followed by cutting/collection (39.0 percent)
And only 18.9 percent of households used other means such as barter, gift, borrowing etc.
He said more than half of the fuelwood cut/collected by households, 55.3 percent were branches, stems, and trees, adding that an estimated 67.8 percent of households used the fuelwood either for domestic, agricultural, commercial, cultural, or religious purposes.
The Statistician General further disclosed that one in every five households (22.0 percent) used charcoal during the reference period. Among households using charcoal, 21.6 percent purchased the product, and only 0.3 and 0.6 percent acquired it through their own production, and other means respectively.
FEC approves $618m loan for fighter jets, ammunition
The Federal Executive Council has approved a loan of about $618m from a group of financiers for the procurement of six fighter aircraft and ammunition for the Nigerian Air Force.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in Abuja, on Wednesday, following the conclusion of the FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu, reports Voice of Nigeria.
Also on Wednesday, the FEC approved N740bn for the Berger stretch of the Abuja-Kano route, among other high-profile road projects.
Idris, who stood in for the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said, “From the Honorable Minister of Finance, who is away on official duty in the United States, I’m going to let you know what those FEC approvals are.
“The first one is that there have been approvals for some contracts, about seven of them for the Nigerian Customs Service.
“The next one is that there’s an approval for an agreement for the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and prevention of tax evasion and avoidance between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.
“The third one is an approval to obtain a credit facility of 443,330,781.49 euros and another $141m from a group of financiers for the procurement of six units of M346 fighter aircraft and ammunition for the Nigerian Air Force.
“And the last one from the Federal Ministry of Finance is the approval for signing of an agreement for the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and the prevention of tax evasion and avoidance between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Botswana.”
Earlier in October, the Air Force said it was acquiring 24 M-346 combat jets and 10 AW109 Trekker helicopters as part of a fleet renewal strategy.
The first three M-346 jets are expected to be delivered by early 2025, with subsequent deliveries running until mid-2026.
At the press briefing, it was also revealed that the FEC had approved the establishment of the Creative Economy Fund to ensure the deepening of the sector.
Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, told State House correspondents that the council approved the establishment of the fund.
“FEC gave approval for the creation of a Creative Economy Development Fund.
“This is a special purpose vehicle that will allow members within the creative economy to have access to funding and use their IP as collateral in terms of monetisation.
“We identified very early on that the very basic structures in order for us to really tap into the potential of the creative economy were missing.
“So, we got to work in putting up those structures. IP policy is one of those very basic structures that was missing. We are working together with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and with the Ministry of Justice to ensure that we deliver IP policy, hopefully within the maximum, at the very last phase, within the next two weeks.
“This is a special purpose vehicle that will give them funding that will be able to allow us to leverage funding that we’re getting. We already have a commitment, for example, from Afreximbank that has committed to giving us $200m and a number of other sources.
“So, this is a special purpose vehicle that will allow us to give this funding to members within the community. And hopefully, we’ll be able to tap into the potential and reach our targets of economic expansion, creative expansion, cultural expansion and of course job creation, specifically for a younger demographic,” the minister added.
