Over 250 Communities get electricity in Enugu
October 4, 2006

The State Governor, Chimaroke Nnamani, announced this when he received in audience the Chairman and members of the Board of the Rural Electrification Agency of Nigeria who called on him at the Government House, Enugu.

Governor Nnamani stated that the rural electrification project, which was executed under the State Government Community Development Country Council and in partnership with donor agencies, was in keeping with his government's determination to open up the rural areas and better the lots of the people. .

The State Chief Executive described the establishment of the agency as a welcome development and called for closer collaboration between the Federal Agency and its state counterpart in the execution of community-based projects like the rural electrification programme.

The Governor noted that such collaboration had become very necessary to help check some observed cases of duplication in the execution of rural electrification projects by either the Federal or State Governments in chosen communities.

He observed that there were many cases of lack of communication between Federal and state agencies involved in the provision of specific projects, adding that there were communities whose electricity needs were budgeted for tackling by both state and federal governments, a duplication which gave room for sharp practices by contractors and officials involved.

"Part of the problem with development in an emerging democratic state is that between the contending parties; there are so many areas where the federal government had awarded contracts for rural electrification and state governments were also working in the same area. There are also areas where contractors were handling federal contracts and they were abandoned and the state had to come in."

He therefore stressed the need for both parties to sit down and decide how to sort out the issue in such a way that, "if the federal government is going to handle projects in a community, then let us do the other community, or if federal government is going to give us transformer, let us do the poles and power line."

This, he said, had led to duplication of functions, double expenses and wastage of resources. He commended the Chairman, Senator Omilani and a member of the Board, Professor Chinere Okunna, for their contributions in the socio-political and academic development of society.

In his address, the Chairman of the Board, Senator Olayinka Omilani, told the Governor that the Agency was established in 2006 to help promote rural electrification in the country, implement the rural electrification fund and regulate rural electrification projects in conjunction with the Nigerian Electrification Regulatory Commission (NERC)

Senator Omilani, who is also the Vice Chairman of the PDP, South West Zone, explained that the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is a govemmental body charged with designing and implementing steps to achieve rural access to electricity in Nigeria.

He noted with satisfaction the achievements made by the Enugu State Government in the areas of rural electrification and said, "substantial gains in rural electrification have been recorded by various state governments since the country's return to democracy in 1999 and the major efforts of your administration in electricity access, expansion to the rural and peri-urban areas of Enugu State, are highly commended."

The REA Board Chairman noted that since the return of democracy under President Olusegun Obasanjo, 791 electricity projects had been completed, 1500 projects at various stages of completion, while additional 557 new constituency power projects had since commenced in 2006 and were currently under execution across the country.

Senator Omilani regretted that in spite of all these achievements, a lot more was still needed because 37 of the 774 local government headquarters in the country were yet to be connected to the national grid while only 40% of the nation's population had access to regular electricity supply.

According to him, rural access to electricity was estimated at under 25% and added that the agency had plans to source power through the exploitation of renewable energy source from solar, wind, bio-mass and perennial water. Under this programme, he said, a total of 964 projects were scheduled for completion by next year while 400 others which had been outstanding, will be completed by the agency, he said.

He said that the agency planned to establish the Rural Electrification Fund next year to help support states, local governments, as well as communities that met the set criteria for the rural electricity development in their areas.

Senator Omilani said that the agency had completed plans to establish its zonal office in Enugu and appealed to the Governor to provide it with an office accommodation in the state capital for the purpose.