Adesina, who was speaking on the “State of the Power sector and Opportunities Ahead”, emphasized that from a legacy debt resolution to tech-driven expansion, Nigeria, including the construction of a data centre, would ultimately overcome its challenges to become the transformational power hub in Africa.

Sahara Power Group does not currently operate an existing data centre but is planning, in collaboration with the Nigerian Federal Government, to establish the country’s first National Data Park and AI Compute Infrastructure at its Egbin Power Plant site in Lagos.

“We are witnessing unprecedented collaboration involving the Federal Government, Power Ministry, Regulatory Agencies, Power Entities, CBN, Banks and multilateral financial and development agencies, and other stakeholders in the power sector. We believe that this trend will continue in 2026 and this will spur sector-wide growth that will translate to greater efficiency, sustainability, and more power for Nigerians,” he said.

While commending the Federal Government for addressing the liquidity challenges in the sector through the settlement of legacy debts, Adesina said this would undoubtedly drive new investments and stabilise the sector for unhindered growth.

Adesina said “decent progress” had been recorded in the aspect of metering and service delivery, adding that emerging cooperation between the regulators and operators will further propel “value chain optimisation with a positive impact on end-users, directly translating to more supply reliability.”

He said the sector would witness several “Distribution Network Reforms” to drive massive infrastructure rehabilitation projects, the deployment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), and the implementation of robust Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to enhance service delivery and reduce Aggregate Technical, Commercial, and Collection (ATC&C) losses, and development of model business units showcasing possibilities.

Adesina said, Sahara Power Group (SPG), remained committed to working assiduously with all stakeholders to ensure Nigeria attains the much sought-after future where reliable electricity becomes the bedrock of national development.

Sahara Power is Nigeria’s foremost power company, responsible for about 20 per cent of total power generated in the nation.

Sahara Power subsidiaries include Egbin Power Plc, the largest thermal power plant in sub-Saharan Africa, First Independent Power Limited, a leading generating company in the Niger Delta, and Ikeja Electric, the largest privately run distribution, company in sub-Saharan Africa.

Adesina said Sahara Power is on course with plans aimed at increasing dispatched generation capacity to between 6,500MW and 7,000MW and is pioneering the launch of a Data Centre to foster expansion and innovative operations.

He noted that Sahara Power will invest heavily in both gas and renewable sources to achieve additional generation capacity within the next three to five years, with the goal being “sustainable, affordable, and reliable power for households and industries.”

He said the Data Centre will leverage real-time data analytics, predictive maintenance, and cybersecurity, working alongside the Federal Government and system operators to enhance overall sector efficiency and transparency.

“At Sahara, our dedication to the power sector is unwavering as clearly demonstrated by our ambitious investments and sector leadership over the years. We will pursue strategic investments, continuing expansion and tech-led operations to ensure we serve our customers with precision, transparency and excellence.”

On the state of power loans, Adesina said promising conversations with the consortium of banks involved in the process are ongoing with a positive end in sight.

According to him, the loans which are contractually due for full payment in 2034, are being “serviced diligently in keeping with all agreed terms” as “this discipline allows us to attract further investment and execute our expansion plans.”

He said:

“Our successes at Sahara are built on a foundation of financial integrity. From inception to date, we have paid the naira equivalent of $438 million (total debt serviced) which is 73% of the original loan of $600 million. This was achieved in spite of huge liquidity issues in the sector, especially the debts owed to Sahara and our gas suppliers which as of March 31st, 2025, was reconciled to stand at N1.514 trillion. We are grateful for the government’s intervention through the ongoing legacy debt payments which will facilitate full settlement of all outstanding loans to the banks, our obligations to our gas suppliers, technical service providers (operations and maintenance services) etc. We are confident that the loans will be sorted out completely as we are eager to accelerate our growth plans.”

According to him,

“We have done series of scenario planning and will anchor our strategic objective on the bold, clear-sighted, long-term oriented infrastructure plan of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Mr President has demonstrated courage in confronting age-long bottlenecks, clearing the way for investor confidence thereby engendering significant growth and development of the power sector and Nigeria’s economy in general.”

He added:

“With clear positive policy reforms in the sector, stability in the exchange rate, significant reduction in inflation rate and the associated moderated interest rate, we as well as other investors in the sector can now easily plan with a higher sense of predictability and conviction.”

Experts have since noted that the government’s Legacy Debt Resolution plan targeted at Generation Companies (GenCos) and gas suppliers will serve as a major catalyst for stabilizing the value chain and restoring investor confidence.

Figures from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), shows that over 2.3 million new meters have been deployed under the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) phases since 2020.

This is expected to significantly reduce the national metering gap and improve revenue assurance for operators.

The site visit was led by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, who was joined by Sahara Group Chairman, Dr. Kola Adesina, and several key stakeholders.

The location isn’t a random pick. Egbin is West Africa’s largest privately-operated power station, with a 1,320 MW installed capacity—and it’s expanding. It already supplies over 16% of the national grid. Now, it might also power Nigeria’s entrance into large-scale artificial intelligence and data processing.

Why Egbin? Data centres and compute hubs consume serious energy. You don’t plug them into the same grid that struggles to keep homes lit. Egbin has what’s needed—steady electricity, plenty of land, and access to water for cooling systems. That mix is rare and hard to replicate elsewhere in the country.

According to the Minister, the idea is to “anchor Nigeria’s digital backbone” right where power already flows. It’s a calculated move. If it works, it could remove the two biggest excuses for Nigeria’s slow tech adoption: unstable power and limited processing capacity.

The conversation is no longer about whether AI will change Nigeria’s economy—it’s how soon, and who controls it. Establishing a compute hub at Egbin would offer the infrastructure needed to train and deploy large AI models within Nigeria’s borders. That’s a game-changer.

We’re talking about hosting high-performance servers capable of processing billions of data points for AI applications in agriculture, health, finance, and even national security. It also means less dependency on foreign cloud platforms and faster, more secure access to critical services.

I’ve seen this mistake play out elsewhere—countries outsourcing their digital intelligence and later struggling to reclaim control. This could be Nigeria’s chance to avoid that path.

There’s more. The proposed data park aligns with plans to turn Lagos into a subsea cable hub. Cables already land here from Europe, the Americas, and elsewhere. But routing them into a high-capacity data zone within the Egbin corridor would reduce latency, improve service delivery, and lower internet costs nationwide.

That kind of infrastructure layering—energy, data, cables—is what turns cities into digital economies. The ambition is to make Lagos a serious player on the continent and a critical junction for global data movement.

Data sovereignty has become a political issue, and rightly so. As more national infrastructure becomes digital, questions of where data is stored and who controls it are no longer technical—they’re about power.

By building this infrastructure on Nigerian soil, the government is aiming to ensure that key data—citizen records, financial information, national security assets—doesn’t sit on foreign servers. It’s a statement of independence in the digital age.

Dr. Tijani said he was “deeply impressed” by what he saw at Egbin Power Plant and described the facility as a critical national asset. He also acknowledged the strength of Nigerian engineering and technical expertise, stating that “Nigeria has what it takes.”

If executed well, the initiative could bring in new capital. Tech firms, cloud providers, research institutions—many are searching for low-cost, high-power zones to host infrastructure. Egbin could become that zone.

It would also generate thousands of high-skilled jobs—engineers, data analysts, security experts, system architects—roles Nigeria currently imports or underutilises. With a growing youth population and rising unemployment, this could be the reset button we need.

There’s no final commitment yet. The visit was exploratory, but signals are strong. Discussions have moved beyond vague promises to tangible feasibility assessments.

In this space, delays are dangerous. If this initiative succeeds, it could bolster the next phase of Nigeria’s economic story—not oil, not gas, but data. And this time, the fuel isn’t exported—it’s processed right here.