Nigeria is in talks with the UAE on proposals to increase its electricity generation capacity by about 5,000 megawatts, with solar power among the key areas of cooperation, reported Wam citing the country's power minister.

Federal Minister of Power Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe said the discussions also cover financing, technical expertise and the change of ideas as Nigeria seeks to expand and strengthen its power sector.

“We have proposals and discussions around increasing generation capacity by around 5,000MW,” Tegbe told Wam on the sidelines of Middle East Energy 2026.

Tegbe said his country is discussing proposals with the UAE to strengthen electricity generation capacity by 5,000MW, noting that solar energy is among the most prominent areas of cooperation between the two countries, alongside financing and the exchange of expertise and technical ideas.

According to him, Nigeria enjoys broad co-operation with the UAE, including arrangements for Emirati financial support for a number of programmes, as well as proposals and discussions related to increasing generation capacity by around 5,000MW.

The solar energy is one of the most important areas of co-operation between the two sides, given the similarities between the two countries and their high levels of solar irradiation.

Tegbe said the bilateral co-operation is not limited to financing, but also includes the exchange of lessons learned, expertise and technical ideas.

On reforms in Nigeria's electricity sector, he said the country is adopting new strategies to ensure the sector's sustainability, including upgrading parts of the power grid that are around 50 years old, replacing infrastructure components and strengthening the network to enhance its stability and resilience.

Nigeria's installed electricity generation capacity stands at 13,625MW, while around 5,000 MW are transmitted through the grid and about 4,000MW are actually delivered, he added.