Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have spent a staggering N220 billion on solar power installations in 15 months, as government institutions increasingly move to shield themselves from Nigeria’s unreliable national grid and surging energy costs.

The expenditure, captured across 2,855 government payment transactions, shows a growing dependence on alternative energy sources, particularly solar, amid persistent grid collapses, rising Band A electricity tariffs and escalating diesel and petrol prices.

The payments show that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security emerged as the highest spending agency, disbursing N19.2 billion across 118 transactions, the largest payment among all MDAs within the period under review.

The data, spanning January 2025 to March 2026 and sourced from Govspend, a government payment tracking platform, also identifies B.Solar Energy Limited as the single largest private-sector beneficiary of solar-related contracts. The company received N4.25 billion across just 13 transactions, despite appearing inactive on both the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) portal and Nigeria’s beneficial ownership register as of yesterday.

The findings show how private contractors, vendors and a few statutory bodies are increasingly benefiting from the solarisation drive, as Nigeria’s national grid continues to hover around an average capacity of 4,000 megawatts (MW), far below demand and plagued by frequent system collapses.

Further breakdown of the data shows that the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) followed closely behind the Agriculture Ministry, spending N16.85 billion across 122 transactions, while the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) recorded the highest number of transactions at 282, amounting to N14.34 billion.

Other major spenders include the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (Lagos) with N14.34 billion, the Federal Co-operative College, Oji River with N12.29 billion, and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, which spent N10.26 billion across 47 transactions, indicating the highest average transaction value of N218.3 million among the top agencies.

Additional agencies in the top spending bracket are the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation, Ilorin (N9.62 billion), Nigeria Stored Products Research Institute, Ilorin (N8.8 billion), National Productivity Centre (N8.64 billion) and the Federal Ministry of Works (N8.63 billion).

Over N12 billion was collected by the defunct Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as Value Added Tax (VAT) and Withholding Tax (WHT) on the installation, which occurred in about 871 transactions.

Among the private contractors, solar firms dominate the list of top beneficiaries as B.Solar Energy Limited and 4Plus Solar Energy Limited received N3.56 billion from 13 transactions, while other notable beneficiaries include Diamond Leeds Ltd (N2.51 billion) and Gorrion Engineering Limited (N2.46 billion).

The Guardian’s check on the CAC portal shows that Diamond Leeds and Gorrion have a related beneficial owner, being Chioma Ifekudu and Onyinye Ifekudu. Both companies are associated with Dr Kenneth Ifekudu.

Techtap Consult Limited (N2.25 billion), linked by CAC to Osho Juliana Pascaline, received N2.25 billion. Alpuba Services Limited, linked to Adeuyi Adewale by CAC received N1.9 billion, while Ken Vic Moore Biz Ventures Nig Limited, also linked to Nnamdi Ifekudu, was paid N1.67 billion.

Similarly, the inactive B.Solar Energy Limited and 4Plus Solar Energy Limited, which have no verifiable beneficial owners on the CAC portal, averaged between N270 million and N327 million per transaction, pointing to high-value solar contracts being concentrated among a small group of companies.

A deeper look at contract descriptions reveals a recurring pattern of solar-related projects across MDAs.

These include the supply and installation of solar streetlights in various communities, solar-powered systems, and all-in-one solar lights.

Interestingly, many of these contracts were awarded by agencies with limited direct links to energy infrastructure, such as the Nigeria Stored Products Research Institute, Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Spending trends over the period also reveal significant irregularities. December 2025 alone accounted for N69.5 billion, nearly one-third of total disbursements, showing a pronounced year-end spending surge often associated with efforts to exhaust budget allocations.

Other high-spending months include September 2025 with N43.98 billion and February 2025 with N33.71 billion. In contrast, June and July 2025 recorded minimal activity, with combined spending of less than N340 million.

Last year, electricity distribution companies (DisCos) said MDAs were unable to pay over N100 billion in electricity bills, as they lamented that they were being owed hundreds of billions of naira by various MDAs across the country, with no payment plans in sight.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, had confirmed that while some DisCos were owed over N60 billion, MDAs owed over N100 billion as of November 2025. (The Guardian)

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