The Federal Government of Nigeria has successfully secured a landmark $238 million loan facility from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), aimed at transforming the nation’s power transmission infrastructure. The agreement was finalized during high-level engagements at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), held in Yokohama, Japan.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, alongside Minister of Power Chief Adebayo Adelabu, led Nigeria’s delegation with a clear mandate: to move beyond diplomacy and deliver tangible outcomes for the Nigerian people. “Nigeria’s participation at TICAD9 was not about trade exhibitions, but about forging strategic, outcome-driven partnerships,” President Tinubu stated. “We are deliberately shifting from planning to implementation, from agreements to delivery, and from promises to measurable results.”
The JICA-backed loan, complemented by a Federal Executive Council counterpart funding of ₦19.08 billion, will finance the expansion of Nigeria’s national grid.
Minister Adelabu emphasized the strategic importance of the deal, citing engagements with Japanese power giants such as Toshiba, Hitachi, and Japan’s Transmission & Distribution Corporation. “This $238 million loan provides the backbone for our transmission infrastructure overhaul. Our focus is on operational efficiency and reducing system losses,” he said.
The partnership also builds on JICA’s longstanding support for Nigeria’s energy sector, including a $32 million grant for substations in Apo (FCT), Keffi (Nasarawa State), and Apapa (Lagos State), set for commissioning later this year. Additionally, the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria has received state-of-the-art equipment from JICA to enhance technical capacity across the sector.
This milestone aligns with Nigeria’s broader energy transition goals, including the $750 million World Bank Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up programme under the Mission 300 Compact, which aims to deliver clean electricity to over 17 million Nigerians.