The Federal Government has signed a 30-year concession agreement with Quaint Energy for the development of the 6-megawatt Ikere Gorge Hydropower Project in Oyo State, marking a major milestone in Nigeria’s drive toward cleaner and more sustainable electricity generation. The ceremony, held in Abuja, was presided over by the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, who described the signing as the culmination of more than a decade of negotiations between the government and the private developer.

Adelabu noted that the Ikere Gorge project, alongside the 2MW Omi-Kampe Hydropower Project in Kogi State, forms part of the Federal Government’s strategic plan to expand renewable energy generation, enhance energy access, and stimulate state-level electricity markets. He added that the hydropower projects represent more than energy investments but are catalysts for rural industrialization and agricultural productivity. According to him, the government’s focus is now on creating an enabling regulatory environment, ensuring policy stability, and de-risking private investments through credible partnerships and transparent processes.

The Minister posited that once fully developed, the hydropower plants have huge potential to scale further reliable electricity to surrounding communities, support agricultural processing zones, small industries, and social infrastructure, and catalyze rural economic transformation within Oyo and Kogi States, respectively. Adelabu revealed that the administration’s ongoing reforms and commercialization efforts had boosted the power sector’s revenue by 70 per cent in 2024, while cutting government liabilities by N700bn.

Responding, the Chairman of Quaint Energy, Mr. Femi Adeyanju, pledged that the company would deliver the project on schedule and in line with global standards. Ikere Gorge Dam was conceived in the late 1970s, and construction began in the early 1980s under successive administrations as a multi-purpose scheme for power generation, irrigation, and water supply.