Report: World’s Highest Population without Electricity Resides in Nigeria

Nigeria now has the highest number of people lacking electricity access in the world with a total of 85 million Nigerian citizens, a report co-authored by the World Bank has disclosed.

The report was co-authored by Extractives Global Programmatic Support (EGPS) and the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives (EITI) on the works of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) which they lauded.

Both entities explained that the works of NEITI had set enviable standards for reporting the activities of countries’ extractive industries.

They, however, noted that the works of NEITI on identifying and helping the country to recover misplaced extractive revenues should contribute to far-reaching reforms that would give the un-electrified population access to electricity.

“Nigeria now has the highest number of people lacking electricity access in the world, at a total of 85 million Nigerian citizens.

“Greater transparency and accountability should contribute to an overall reform process that helps Nigerians gain crucial access to electricity and accelerates the government’s economic recovery and growth plan,” thry stated in the article.

According to the report, the bank’s EGPS is multi-donor trust fund which supports developing countries to govern their oil, gas and mineral resources in a sustainable and transparent manner to reduce poverty and boost shared prosperity.

It explained that Nigeria has made good improvements in the governance of its oil sector, bringing greater transparency and publishing credible and trusted data through the NEITI.

“Reports, policy briefs and other knowledge products published by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) have been a catalyst for ongoing reforms and have helped the country to identify about USD 20 billion in recoverable revenues, and to recover approximately USD 3 billion into government coffers to date,” it added.

Nigeria, it noted was one of the first oil-producing developing countries to engage with the EITI and enacted the NEITI Act in 2007 which is devoted to improving transparency, accountability and good governance through EITI implementation.

It said that: “The country’s early adoption of the EITI has seen NEITI become a “one-stop shop” for information and accurate data across the extractive sector value chain. Previously,