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Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology inaugurated a 16-member inter-agency committee on October 23 to develop recommendations for safety standards covering solar photovoltaic systems and lithium-ion battery storage. The ministry’s report said the committee is tasked with helping establish a coordinated regulatory framework for installation, operation, maintenance and end-of-life disposal as adoption of solar and battery systems grows. The announcement records the committee’s formation and mandate, not the adoption of new regulations.
Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh inaugurated the committee; Permanent Secretary Mukhtar Yawale Muhammad represented him at the event and chairs the committee. Agoro Olayiwola, director of science and technology promotion at the ministry, serves as secretary. Other members are drawn from the ministry and agencies including the Energy Commission of Nigeria, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The committee is expected to review existing Nigerian Industrial Standards alongside International Electrotechnical Commission and International Organization for Standardization standards, identify regulatory gaps and recommend adaptations for Nigerian operating conditions. Its terms of reference include proposing minimum safety requirements across system design, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance and disposal. The ministry did not publish a completed standards review, draft regulation or implementation date.
A second part of the mandate concerns people and products in the market. The committee is to recommend a framework for assessing installer competence and for certification, registration and licensing in collaboration with relevant regulators. It is also tasked with proposing battery conformity assessment, product certification, traceability and market surveillance. These are work areas assigned to the committee; the report does not say that installer licensing or a new battery certification regime is already in force.
The ministry linked the initiative to increasing use of renewable power and storage, and to risks such as fires and other hazards from systems that are installed, operated or maintained improperly. The release framed safety rules as a complement to the potential benefits of solar and batteries, including wider electricity access and economic activity. It did not report incident counts, quantify market size, identify a particular product implicated in fires, or compare risk rates across technologies.
The 16-member body was asked to produce practical, evidence-based recommendations within a stipulated timeframe, but the ministry’s public report did not specify the deadline. Any resulting requirements would depend on later review, recommendations and action by competent authorities. Until such steps are announced, the committee’s inauguration should be read as the start of a standards-development process, rather than proof that new national safety rules, installer licences or product controls have taken effect. Publication of a committee report or draft standards would be a separate milestone from any later legal adoption and enforcement.