- FG seeks state governments’ support in eradicating power supply challenges.
- The Minister of Power made the appeal at the REA stakeholders’ workshop.
The Federal Government has called on the support of state governments to boost access to off-grid electricity in rural communities across the country. The Minister of State for Power, Mr Goddy Jedy-Agba, made the appeal at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja.
The minister’s appeal came shortly after Gail Warrander, Team Leader for Economic Development, UK FCDO, disclosed that there are more people in Nigeria without access to electricity than in any other country in the world. Jeddy-Agba, who disputed this, stressed that the Federal Government had done a lot to bring off-grid electricity to rural communities through the REA.
He, however, stressed that it was impossible for the Federal Government to do much without the support of state governments. According to him, “Recent events have shown the need to focus on deploying more off-grid solutions to complement the efforts of the Federal Government in ensuring that there is a reliable supply of electricity nationwide.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of REA, Engr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad noted that the agency was desirous of building a strong collaborative relationship with state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) because “every community deserves to have access to electricity”.