Mohammed Shosanya
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA),has signed a multi-stakeholder Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with strategic partners to enhance collaborative efforts aimed at accelerating access to clean, reliable, and sustainable energy for unserved, underserved, and peri-urban communities in Nigeria.
The agency’s new line of partnerships include four government agencies: Nigeria Immigration Service; Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF); National Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) and the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF).
As part of the new commitments,the REA signed MoU’s with 19 Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCOs,who have committed to optimizing their resources to delivering innovative, sustainable, utility-scale renewable energy capacity in line with the objectives of the REA,a statement said on Saturday.
At the signing ceremony in Abuja,the MD/CEO of the REA,Abba Abubakar Aliyu,said the development marks a significant step towards driving innovation and expanding renewable energy solutions in key institutions in Nigeria.
According to him,with an active history on sector coordination and energy access project implementation in Nigeria, the REA continues to facilitate productive partnerships with other government agencies, development finance institutions as well as the private sector, geared towards revolutionizing the energy access landscape.
He said the agency’s new growth path as well as its new line-up of futuristic partnerships are in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency,President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, as captured in the nation’s current blueprint for the energy sector; the 2023 Electricity Act, with each organization bringing its unique expertise, resources, and technical assistance to ensure the success of the initiative.
He emphasized the Federal Government’s new approach to addressing the nation’s electricity challenges, in line with the 2023 Electricity Act.
He added:”The need for strategic coordination between the multiple players across the electricity value chain and a coordinated approach in the delivery of energy access projects”. He added that “the REA has been tasked with the implementation of the National Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan (NESIP), which will serve as a pathway for data-driven, sector-specific, integrated electrification plan, hence the need for strategic partnerships with key players across sectors”.
Comptroller General of Immigration Service (CGIS), Kemi Nanna Nandap,expressed her delight about the timeliness of the partnership with the REA.
She explained that state-of-the-art technologies, including a top-tier data center, being utilized by the NIS under this administration can only be sustainably powered through clean energy.
She explained that “it is an honour to activate the partnership with the REA as such a partnership now enables the NIS to scale its interventions on border management, border governance and migration management”.
Sharing her thoughts on rural electrification as it aligns with the mandate of the NIS, the CG explained that sustainable energy infrastructure strengthens engagement with border communities situated in rural areas and solar streetlight technologies provides safety across the communities.
She said,this will be a game-changer for the NIS.
Commending the REA’s delivery of its mandate,the Executive Secretary, Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF), Mohammed Shaidu,emphasized the centrality of energy in technology use.
He added that the NPTF’s partnership with the REA “will have a profound effect on the welfare and the operational readiness of the Nigeria Police as the utilization of renewable energy will not only reduce the dependence on traditional energy sources but will also provide sustainable and reliable power to the police personnel and enhance their capacity to serve and protect “.
He reassured that the MoU between the REA and NPTF will serve as “a framework for the planning, implementation and monitoring of projects that will electrify key police facilities, as such projects align with the broader goal of promoting sustainability, energy security and enhanced mobility for the police force”.
As the agency counts down to the flag off of the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES), a $750m electrification programme under the REA,the Head of the Nigeria Electrification programme (NEP), Olufemi Akinyelure, while speaking on the REA’s central role in the evolution of private sector players in the energy sector from contractors, to developers to Renewable energy Service Companies (RESCOs), explained that “the RESCO is a central pillar of REA’s off-grid electrification efforts, ensuring that unserved, underserved and rural communities benefit from sustainable, affordable, and scalable renewable energy solutions”.
Olufemi explained that while the DARES is designed to be an impactful and transformative programme, beyond the grants and budgetary allocations through the REA, “the private sector needs to be able to catalyze funding, private financing and private investment”.
He assured stakeholders of the REA’s readiness to facilitate and implement utility-scale renewable energy infrastructure nationwide.
Engr. Doris Udoh, the Executive Director, Rural Electrification Fund (REF) explained that the REA’s scale-up strategy is targeted at alleviating energy poverty both in rural, unserved areas and across key sectors such as education, healthcare, agriculture and security.
She emphasized the agency’s focus on the optimization of renewable energy sources to close the energy gap at a quicker pace.
She added that the REA continues to keep up with technological advancements in the renewable energy sector as the agency has sustained its strategic approach to sector coordination, investment and project implementation.
In line with the REA’s ag-energy strategy, targeted at improving energy access for agricultural productivity, the Executive Secretary, National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Muhammed Abu explained that the Fund’s partnership with the REA will ensure energy sufficiency to utilize tools such as “solar-powered irrigation systems that allows all-year-round farming, solar-powered planters, threshers and dryers”.
He added that “renewable energy has the potential to significantly drive production in terms of quantity and quality of produce as post-harvest losses can be avoided”.
