Salisu Isihak

Senior Business Advisor to the Managing Director

Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd.

Nigeria

Dr. Salisu Isihak is a multiple award-winning energy professional, sustainability advocate, and corporate strategist with nearly two decades of experience across downstream petroleum, renewable-energy deployment, energy modelling, and policy advisory. He currently serves as Senior Business Advisor to the Managing Director of NNPC Retail Limited, where he helps drive strategic initiatives that strengthen nationwide energy access, operational excellence, and market competitiveness. His work spans retail fuels, LPG, CNG, lubricants, aviation, and emerging decarbonisation pathways—supporting NNPC Retail’s growth and its ambition to become Africa’s most innovative energy marketing company.


Previously, Dr. Isihak served as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of the Rural Electrification Fund at the Rural Electrification Agency, contributing to clean-energy programmes targeting underserved communities, health facilities, productive-use sectors, and public institutions. His work supported Nigeria’s efforts toward achieving SDG7, advancing renewable-energy initiatives designed to reach millions through sustainable technologies and innovative financing models.


His career includes impactful roles within NNPC Retail, and the financial sector, where he led reforms that improved performance, expanded energy access, and enhanced organisational capability.


A frequent speaker at global energy forums, he has received grants and recognition from organisations such as UNIDO, the World Bank, the EU, and academic institutions across Africa, Europe, and North America. His work in energy modelling and access planning is widely referenced for advancing data-driven electrification planning.


Dr. Isihak holds a First-Class BSc in Economics from Usmanu Danfodiyo University and an MSc in Energy Economics (Distinction) from the University of Dundee and Ph.D in Sustainable Energy Development from De Montfort University, UK. He is a member of the Energy Institute (UK), SPE Abuja Section, and several professional networks across the sustainability ecosystem.

Participates in

TECHNICAL PROGRAMME | Energy Leadership

Energy Access for All
Forum 25 | Hall 10 - Technical Programme 5
27
April
13:30 15:00
UTC+3
This study examines the potential contributions of renewable energy to achieving universal electricity access in Nigeria within the framework of sustainable energy transition. Specifically, we adopt the Open Source Spatial Electrification Tool (OnSSET) to carry out a GIS-based rural electrification assessment to examine the options for achieving universal electricity access in Nigeria to support sustainable energy transitions. We focus on Sokoto State, Nigeria. Based on OnSSET modelling, the total number of unelectrified settlements in the study area is estimated at 1,453 with a corresponding population of 1.28miilion. Our results show that mini-grid PV will be the least-cost electrification option for electrifying most of the unelectrified settlements. Based on our assumption of basic electricity demand, the cost of electrifying the settlements is estimated at US$231.4million, and the additional capacity that will be required will be 125MW. Given the large number of unelectrified settlements and the financial requirement for achieving universal electricity access, we proceed to prioritize the settlements using the multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) and identify settlements that will have the highest utility if electrified based on five criteria: financial, economic, social, demographic and political. We conclude by noting that the technical, institutional, and governance constraints to achieving universal electrification in Nigeria are being addressed, however, the financial constraints persist. We recommend that financial support by multilateral development organizations should also include support for setting assembling or manufacturing facilities for renewable energy equipment in Nigeria as this will substantially reduce the cost of mini-grid projects as well as the associated risks of such projects in terms of cost recovery due to exchange rate fluctuations.  

TECHNICAL PROGRAMME | Energy Leadership

Energy Access for All
Forum 25 | Hall 5 Digital Poster Plaza 5
27
April
15:30 17:30
UTC+3
The Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) focuses on achieving universal access to modern energy services and is also relevant for the achievement of several other development goals, especially those relating to health, environment, and education. In Zambia, efforts have been made through government policies and advocacy to promote the use of modern energy services for cooking. However, these efforts seem not to be yielding the desired result because the desired outcome in terms of the adoption of modern energy services for cooking seems to be far-off. This study examines the determinants of cooking fuels in households that are connected to electricity in Lusaka, Zambia using data obtained from a survey. The findings of the survey reveal that 99.6% of respondents had access to electricity and about 80% of the respondents used more than one cooking fuel, with about 61% using charcoal and electricity. For respondents who use only one cooking fuel, the number that use only charcoal is greater than the number of respondents that used only electricity. In all, the most used fuels were charcoal, electricity, and LPG (cooking gas). Several factors such as the cost of fuel, availability of fuel and other cultural and economic factors influence the choice of cooking fuels used by households. In spite of the efforts to promote clean cooking technologies over the years, the impact has been minimal because fuel stacking persists. The result of this study also supports the “energy stacking” theory of energy transition. 

TECHNICAL PROGRAMME | Energy Technologies

Advancing the Circular Economy & Value of Life Cycle Analyses
Forum 22 | Hall 10 - Technical Programme 4
29
April
10:00 11:30
UTC+3

TECHNICAL PROGRAMME | Energy Technologies

Advancing the Circular Economy & Value of Life Cycle Analyses
Forum 22 | Hall 5 Digital Poster Plaza 4
29
April
14:00 16:00
UTC+3
View All Speakers