Rural Electrification Agency reaffirms commitment to achieve mandate

The Rural Electrification Agency in Nigeria, REA, says it is committed to it’s mandate of rolling out Solar off-grid power solutions and grid extension to millions of unserved and underserved Nigerians.

REA has been successful particularly because of critical partnerships with key Government counterparts and both national and international stakeholders.

To further achieve the mandate of the Agency,  Minister of State, Power, Goddy Jedy-Agba, inaugurated it’s Governing Board, with Abdulazeez Musa Yar’Adua as Chairman and Managing Director/CEO of REA.

Other members of the Board are  representatives from the six – geopolitical zones of Nigeria.

Also, to enhance partnerships and improve the synergy with critical Agencies which are supportive of the REA in achieving its goals, the following Government organisations are represented on the Governing Board with Ex-Officio capacity.

These are Federal Ministry of Power (Supervising Ministry), Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning as well as the Bureau for Public Enterprise.

In addition, Dr. Sanusi Ohiare has been re-appointed as the Executive Director Rural Electrification Fund, REF for another 5-year term for continued development of the Agency.

The Rural Electrification Agency is the Implementing Agency of the Nigerian Government under the Federal Ministry of Power, tasked with the electrification of unserved and underserved communities with the aim to catalyze economic growth and improve quality of life for Nigerians.

Rural Electrification Fund

is currently administering the Rural Electrification Fund and implementing the Nigeria Electrification Project and a number of initiatives in furtherance of its mandate.

Energizing Education Programme, Grid Extension (Capital Projects), Energizing Economies Initiative, Solar Power Naija Programme, Energy for All – ‘Mass Rural Electrification’ and Research and Innovation Hub.

The Agency is responsible for creating an enabling environment for private sector-led projects, which includes conducting pre-feasibility assessments, energy audits, enumeration, data analysis, identification of qualified private sector developers, and project stakeholder engagements and community engagements for awareness creation.

To give effect to some of its initiatives, REA has obtained financing amounting to $550 million ($350 million from the World Bank and $200 million from the African Development Bank) for financing the Nigeria Electrification Project, and an additional $11 million for financing the Rural Electrification Fund for the deployment of Solar hybrid mini grids and solar home systems.

Confidence Okwuchi