Connecting the Dots with Emeka Okpukpara

The Nextier Group

Are you curious about the future of Africa’s Energy Sector? Connecting the Dots is a podcast series that explores the current state of the African and global energy industry and its connections to other sectors. This podcast, hosted by Emeka Okpukpara, partner, Nextier Power and produced by The Nextier Group features global leaders, sharing their thoughts on pathways to achieving sustainable energy efficiency in Africa and globally.

  1. Gaslighting the Transition | Adaora Ugwu

    31 JAN

    Gaslighting the Transition | Adaora Ugwu

    Nigeria calls gas its "transition fuel"—Africa's largest reserves, a declared "Decade of Gas," promises of industrial growth and reliable power. Yet gas flaring continues, power plants lack supply, and industries run on diesel. Adaora Ugwu, Head of Investment Management at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), has worked inside Nigeria's energy governance long enough to understand why. We discuss the governance gaps preventing policy from becoming infrastructure, the financing reforms needed to unlock investment, how subsidies and legacy pricing shape today's market, and the uncomfortable question: Is gas a bridge to cleaner energy or a trap? This is about why Nigeria's gas promise keeps stalling.

    41 min
  2. The Craftsman State: Building Institutions that Endure | Barr. Olajumoke Delano

    17/12/2025

    The Craftsman State: Building Institutions that Endure | Barr. Olajumoke Delano

    Most countries don't fail because they lack resources or ideas, but because they adopt development models designed for somewhere else. Barr. Olajumoke has worked across Europe and Africa in legal chambers, boardrooms, and state-owned enterprises. She believes electricity isn't just a sector, but a signal of state capability and a platform for development. In this episode, Emeka Okpukpara discusses why African countries continue to adopt templates that don't fit their realities, what factors make state-owned enterprises succeed or fail beyond political cycles, and why Africa needs to shift from consuming development solutions to creating exportable ones.

    40 min
  3. The Business of Power Without Trust | Engr. Chijioke Okwuokenye

    09/12/2025

    The Business of Power Without Trust | Engr. Chijioke Okwuokenye

    The power business in Nigeria has a scapegoat who get the blame for everything—the Distribution companies (DisCo's). Transcorp took over the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) in 2023 following a debt default and a threat of TCN disconnection. Engr. Chijioke Okwuokenye was handed the reins to fix the business, restore trust, and prepare for a deregulated market as the MD/CEO. But transformation is a complex task with multiple aspects. We had Engr. Chijioke in the studio to discuss how you fix revenue without alienating customers, which infrastructure investments actually improve reliability, how workforce restructuring affects service delivery, and how AEDC is positioning itself as Nigeria's electricity market decentralises under the 2023 Electricity Act. This is the business of power distribution in Nigeria (without trust).

    52 min
  4. Gridlocked to Green: Nigeria's Renewable Energy Path | Erabor Okogun

    01/12/2025

    Gridlocked to Green: Nigeria's Renewable Energy Path | Erabor Okogun

    Erabor Okogun, Director and Head of Energy Infrastructure, Africa Deals Advisory at KPMG, has spent two decades structuring renewable projects and navigating Nigeria's regulatory maze. We discuss why solar IPPs struggle to move from paper to power, what's actually working in mini-grids, how hybrid solutions can stabilise the system, what makes renewable projects bankable in Nigeria, and the policy shifts that could unlock scale. This is the renewable energy conversation Nigeria needs.

    47 min
  5. From Blackouts to Broadband: What It Takes to Power the Digital Economy | Lande Abudu

    20/11/2025

    From Blackouts to Broadband: What It Takes to Power the Digital Economy | Lande Abudu

    Africa's mobile revolution is powered by diesel, which is expensive, unreliable, and limits rural expansion. Lande Abudu, GSMA's Senior Energy Specialist for Sub-Saharan Africa, explains how solar towers, hybrid systems, and smarter financing can cut costs and expand connectivity. We discuss the regulatory alignment needed between telecoms and energy, and how clean power for mobile networks unlocks education, commerce, and digital inclusion. From blackouts to broadband, this is what it takes to power Africa's digital economy.

    41 min
  6. Solar, Skills, and the Nigerian Switch | Suleiman Babamanu

    06/11/2025

    Solar, Skills, and the Nigerian Switch | Suleiman Babamanu

    Suleiman Babamanu, Nigeria Program Director at the Rocky Mountain Institute and former lead of Solar Power Naija, has spent over a decade within Nigeria's clean energy transition. In this conversation, he breaks down why legacy approaches keep failing and outlines a technology-enabled, customer-centric alternative: smart metering and data transparency, distributed renewables as an alternative to diesel and grid instability, policy and financing reforms to unlock capital, and building the institutions for long-term transition. This isn't just policy talk, Suleiman has written the frameworks and built the projects.

    34 min
  7. Lighting The Last Mile: Rethinking Energy Access | Anita Otubu

    27/10/2025

    Lighting The Last Mile: Rethinking Energy Access | Anita Otubu

    In this episode of Connecting the Dots, we dive into Nigeria’s electrification challenges in real time, what progress has been made, what bottlenecks persist, and what practical solutions are emerging to scale access. Anita Otubu unpacks how results-based financing is changing the economics of mini-grids and solar deployment, and why de-risking investment remains essential for private sector participation.

    48 min
  8. Grants vs. Growth: can Nigeria’s off grid energy market sustain itself? | David Arinze

    16/10/2025

    Grants vs. Growth: can Nigeria’s off grid energy market sustain itself? | David Arinze

    In this episode of Connecting the Dots, we sit down with David Arinze renewable energy expert, UNDP Advisor, Yale FDCE Scholar, and Lead of the Renewable Energy Thematic Working Group to unpack the dynamics of international funding in Nigeria’s off-grid market, the risks of dependency, and what it will take to transition from donor-driven growth to a sustainable, locally anchored clean energy future.

    55 min
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About

Are you curious about the future of Africa’s Energy Sector? Connecting the Dots is a podcast series that explores the current state of the African and global energy industry and its connections to other sectors. This podcast, hosted by Emeka Okpukpara, partner, Nextier Power and produced by The Nextier Group features global leaders, sharing their thoughts on pathways to achieving sustainable energy efficiency in Africa and globally.

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