Power minister Joseph Tegbe has called on local and international investors to embrace sustainable financing models to provide electricity for Nigeria’s health facilities.

Clement Ezeorah, the deputy director, press and public relations, Ministry of Power, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, said that Mr Tegbe made the call while speaking at the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Forum.

Mr Ezeorah said the forum was held in Lagos under the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative.

He said that the forum was convened by the health ministry in collaboration with UK PACT and hosted by deputy health minister Isiaq Salako.

Mr Ezeorah also said that the forum brought together representatives of federal and state governments, chief medical directors, development Partners and Private Sector Leaders.

Mr Tegbe described the  power sector as one of the most compelling investments on the African continent. He commended the ministry for convening the forum, noting that reliable electricity is not merely an infrastructure requirement but a fundamental pillar of healthcare delivery.

Mr Tegbe said that he had been a key stakeholder in the NPHI since its inception, even before his appointment as minister, describing the initiative as a personal commitment and reaffirming his support for Mr Salako.

According to him, the objectives of the NPHI align with the ongoing power sector reforms and President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The minister noted that the initiative offered an opportunity to integrate energy planning into health infrastructure development and deploy grid enhancement and renewable hybrid systems tailored to health facilities.

”The initiative is also aimed at strengthening coordination between power sector institutions, health authorities, regulators, and private sector partners,” he said.

Mr Tegbe said there were more than 35,000 registered health facilities across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels nationwide. He said this was a substantial pipeline of bankable projects capable of attracting local and international capital to solar mini-grids, hybrid energy systems, battery storage, and energy-efficiency technologies.

The minister told investors that the strength of the framework lies not in the ambition of its vision but in the quality of its structure, assuring them that the federal government would provide commitment and inter-ministerial coordination.

He said that the Ministry of Power was a co-driver of the initiative and was 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 noted that the Electricity Act provides the regulatory foundation for structuring power purchase agreements, licensing mini-grid operators, and enabling state-level participation.

Mr Salako described the NPHI as a shift from donor-funded infrastructure to a sustainable energy-as-a-service model. He said that under NPHI, specialised providers finance, deploy, and maintain reliable power systems for health facilities, addressing the energy poverty that undermines operating theatres, cold chain systems, diagnostics, and emergency care.

(NAN)