Nigeria imported solar panels worth N237.3bn into the country in the last quarter of 2024.
Data from the Foreign Trades Statistics produced by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the commodity termed ‘Photovoltaic cells not assembled in modules or made up into panels’ was majorly imported from China worth N228.9bn.
The huge amount is despite Nigeria making efforts to be self-sufficient in solar panels production with huge investments in renewable solar.
It would be recalled that Nigeria’s former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, had in 2023 performed the foundation-laying ceremony of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) factory in Gora in Nasarawa State with the aim to put Nigeria among the ranks of countries pushing the boundaries in the use of more climate-friendly alternative energy sources.
The plant, which would cost $325,860,690 was described by the former Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Mohammad Sani Haruna, as a game changer to make alternative power cheaper and affordable.
