This study examines the impact of access to electricity on health and education measured by increased number of hours to study and reduced indoor air pollution of rural communities in Nigeria. Primary data from twelve (12) rural communities that have benefited from rural electrification since 1997 in Oyo State, southwest, Nigeria was collected. Key empirical findings revealed that children study hour reduces with household access to grid electricity, it decreases by 8 percent. Expenditure on electricity significantly decreases children study hour by 12 percent. Electrification decreases the rate at which indoor air pollution reduces by 1.1 percent. Household electricity expenditure increases with reduction in indoor air pollution, it decreases the rate of air pollution by 1.6 percent. Better illumination due from access to modern electricity reduces indoor pollution by 1.2 percent. To enhance the electrification benefits, the adoption of the minigrid option is inevitable, which requires government commitment for sustainability. The off-grid solution, which is usually renewable solution, with strong supporting legislation is equally required for rural electrification strategy. The efficiency of the existing electricity system entails the implementation of the gas master plan, which is crucial in paving way for increasing supply reliability, coverage, and then higher social benefits.

This study considered the effect of electricity consumption on Nigeria and South Africa's economic growth using Linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Model. Aside from the size of the two economies and the strategic position they hold in Africa, Nigeria, unlike South Africa, in 2013 reformed its power sector to accommodate private participation for improved performance. In spite of this, the empirical results show that electricity consumption has no significant effect on Nigeria's economic growth both in the short and long-run. Contrarily, there was significant short-run electricity consumption effect on economic growth in South Africa. The effect persisted till the long-run though at an insignificant rate. The implication of the findings is that power sector reforms, especially in 2013, has not brought about the desired economic impact in Nigeria. As such, it is pertinent to revisit and correct the anomalies in the recent power sector privatization for economic growth. Evidently, electricity consumption engenders growth in South Africa, even with recent data, but more investment is required in the power sector to sustain long-run effect on the economy. Contribution/Originality: This study contributes to the existing literature by considering the short run and long-run effects, as against the causal link, of electricity-economic growth nexus. Also, extending data to recent period is apt, as this has an implication for capturing possible dynamics from the changing structure of the economies. 1. INTRODUCTION Abundant and reliable energy supply has been a vital input in consumption and production possibilities in modern economies. Its availability also serves as a conduit for capital inflows, which equally impact economic growth and development (Olanrele and Adenikinju, 2018). While universal access has remained one of the focal points in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)-goal No. 7, however, access to modern energy in Africa has remained below the level required to engender meaningful impact. This deficit is massive as about 62.5% population in the sub-Sahara is without electricity access (World Economic Forum, 2018). In the region, the population without access is projected around 619million by 2030 (IEA, 2016 cited by Morrissey (2017)). Beyond this, the rate of electrification in the region averaged 42 percent in 2016 (World Bank, 2017). The high rate of poverty remained an issue engendering low access, and also concerns on tariff rates, energy investment, institutional bottlenecks, complementarity between modern and traditional fuel. In Nigeria, a significant proportion of about 40.3 percent of

A rural electrification (RE) strategy was adjudged as a means of extending electricity to unserved and underserved communities to bring about rural transformation and development. This study investigates the effect of Oyo State RE on household welfare indicators such as monthly income and per capita expenditure. Household survey data collected from the Nigerian Institute of Social And Economic Research (NISER) 2017 field survey were employed. Access to grid electricity increases household income by about 1.3 per cent. Although the coefficient was correctly signed, it was not significant. This outcome could be a result of constant electricity supply outages, which is strongly explained by the positive affirmation of 71 per cent of the respondents. Access to grid electricity increases household per capita monthly expenditure by about 6.4 per cent. Expenditure on electricity equally increases monthly per capita expenditure by about 4 per cent and is statistically significant at 1 per cent. Due to rapid decline in the cost of technology, mini-grid and off-grid systems have become viable options for extending electricity access that is more reliable, and hence has more economic benefits. JEL Classification: I31

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The recent volatility of the conventional energy output owning to fluctuations in the supply chain in the fossil fuel cum with its finite supply nature has necessitate the integration of biofuel into the global energy needs. Biofuel as a type of renewable energy has the ability to reduce global warming resulting from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, thus offers a relatively healthy energy option for both the consumers and producers in global space. This notwithstanding has some implications on agriculture and food security. This paper examined the impact of biofuels development on agriculture, energy infrastructure and domestic wellbeing in Nigeria. The study identified a potential rivalrous relationship in terms of space and cultivation mechanism when sustainability is in view. We reviewed existing policies and sustainability practices in other economies and concludes that Nigeria needs a deliberate effort aimed at developing institutional structures that will facilitate building and expansion of the biofuels sub-sector at the same time enhance rural livelihood.