FG powers rural communities with N28.7b

About 1.4 million Nigerians have been provided with electricity in underserved communities under the 2023 budgetary allocation, the Federal Government’s Rural Electricity Agency (REA) said, yesterday, in Abuja.

About N31.7 billion was provided to the agency under the 2023 capital allocation. The agency, while presenting a report on the implementation of the project, said N28.7 billion worth of projects had been completed, leaving out an ongoing N3 billion worth of projects.

Providing a breakdown, the Managing Director of the agency, Abba Abubakar Aliyu said the allocations include N227 million for consultancy, N446 million for mini-grids, N6.3 billion for green extension, N131 million for solar home systems, N626 million for mini-grids, N499 million for solar streetlights, and N2.2 billion for irrigation pumps.

He said the projects covered all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, adding that apart from electrifying, the projects aimed at enhancing security and agricultural activities.

On the need to improve agricultural productivity through electricity, Aliyu said 1,668 solar water pumps had been deployed through the 2023 capital projects, impacting over 24,000 hectares of farmland.

He noted that the records of completed projects under the 2023 Capital Projects were aiding the alleviation of energy poverty, mitigating some of the baseline conditions and challenges of the beneficiary communities.