By Emmanuel Thomas l Friday, July 24,2026
ABUJA — In a major boost to Nigeria’s socio-economic development and digital inclusion, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) are set to sign a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at deploying sustainable energy solutions to power telecom infrastructure in rural and underserved areas across the country.
The landmark partnership will be officially sealed during the joint NCC–REA Stakeholders’ Forum and MoU Signing Ceremony, taking place today, Friday, July 24, 2026, at the NCC Annex Office in Mbora, Abuja.
The inter-agency collaboration brings together key public and private sector stakeholders from both the telecommunications and power sectors to resolve one of the most critical bottlenecks facing Nigeria’s digital economy: reliable energy for connectivity infrastructure.
Bridging the Energy and Telecom Divide
For years, telecom expansion into deep rural and hard-to-reach communities has been hindered by severe grid power deficits and high operational costs associated with running diesel generators at remote base transceiver stations (BTS).
By uniting NCC’s regulatory drive for universal broadband access with REA’s expertise in off-grid solar and mini-grid deployment, the strategic partnership aims to:
Lower Operational Costs: Provide clean, reliable solar power to rural telecom towers, reducing reliance on expensive and carbon-intensive diesel generators.
Expand Broadband Penetration: Enable telecom operators to extend voice and data coverage to remote, unserved, and underserved populations economically.
Empower Rural Communities: Utilize REA’s mini-grid networks to simultaneously supply electricity to rural homes, schools, and health centers while anchoring telecom base stations.
Drive Economic Inclusion: Boost digital financial services, agritech, and e-learning in agrarian and hinterland communities.
This strategic collaboration aligns directly with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritizes infrastructure expansion, energy transition, and digital transformation as catalysts for national growth.
Under the leadership of Dr. Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the NCC, the telecom regulator has intensified efforts through its Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) to eliminate unserved clusters across Nigeria.
Concurrently, the REA, led by Managing Director/CEO Abba Abubakar Aliyu, has scaled up national solarization initiatives and decentralized renewable energy infrastructure.
Industry experts view the synergy as a timely intervention. Power accounts for nearly 40% to 50% of the operating expenditure (OpEx) for telecom tower operators in Nigeria.
Transitioning rural base stations to renewable micro-grids will reduce downtime, improve network quality of service (QoS), and significantly advance Nigeria’s climate action commitments under the Energy Transition Plan.
The Stakeholders’ Forum expected attendance includes chief executives of mobile network operators (MNOs), tower companies (TowerCos), renewable energy developers, bilateral development agencies, and key policy makers to outline execution roadmaps for the joint initiative.
