- REA, GEF, kicks off a five-year rural electrification project.
- The $2.9 million is projected to benefit over 96,000 persons.
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA), with financing support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has kicked off a five-year rural electrification project. In the project tagged, ‘Derisking Sustainable Off-grid Lighting Solution in Nigeria’, direct beneficiaries of the $2.9 million project are estimated at 96,380 persons, out of which 47,540 are expected to be women.
Present at the official launching ceremony was the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Rural Electrification Agency, Ahmed Salihijo Ahmed; Executive Director, Rural Electrification Fund, Dr Sanusi Ohiare; representative of the UNDP, Mohamad Yahya, as well as the Project Manager, ‘Derisking Sustainable Off-grid Lighting Solution in Nigeria’, Dr Bala Tyoden.
The partners disclosed that the project was financed by GEF with $2.6 million and supported by UNDP with $300,000.
In his welcome address, Ahmad expressed the need for effective collaborations in achieving the rural electrification projects. While commending the financial support from GEF and UNDP, he reiterated the imperative of rural electrification for national development. He beckoned on the private sector for investment collaborations in renewable energy in the country.
The Executive Director of Rural Electrification Fund, Dr Sanusi Ohiare, also elaborated on the programme’s objectives and its immense positive impacts on the socio-economic development of rural dwellers and tasked the technical working groups to ensure the project succeeded.
The representative of UNDP, Yahya, was optimistic the project would succeed considering the commitment of the partners and the zeal to achieve the desired result.