The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, on Friday inaugurated former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
The inauguration also saw Alhaji Ahmadu Abubakar and Mr Ilyasu Makinta take their places alongside three other members and non-executive directors, while Mr Abba Aliyu assumed office as the agency’s Managing Director.
Speaking after his inauguration, Fayose expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for the confidence placed in the new appointees, promising to provide the political backing needed to move the REA forward and deliver on its mandate.
He said he would work to secure the resources required to execute the agency’s short- and long-term programmes while expanding electricity access to communities across the country.
“Work has started in earnest; we are reaching out very fast and appealing to people to ensure the work is done.
“I want to use this window to assure Nigerians that your expectation about my appointment and my colleagues will not be dashed.
“We will give our best to achieve the renewed hope of President Tinubu for the country to be better for us all,” Fayose said.
He noted that many of the challenges within Nigeria’s power sector are concentrated at the grassroots, stressing that the new board’s responsibility extends beyond simply connecting communities to electricity.
According to him, the agency must also focus on the millions of Nigerians who need to experience tangible improvements in access to reliable energy.
“When this happens, the people will forever be indebted to the agency,” he said.
The REA Managing Director, Abba Aliyu, also expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for the opportunity to serve and pledged that the agency would intensify efforts to extend electricity to both served and underserved communities.
Earlier, Tegbe said the Federal Government was changing the way it measures progress in the electricity sector, shifting emphasis from the volume of power generated in kilowatts and megawatts to the number of communities and Nigerians gaining access to electricity.
He described the REA as a strategic and distinctive institution within Nigeria’s power sector, noting that its responsibilities extend beyond simply connecting communities to the national electricity network.
“We are moving from just counting kilowatts and megawatts to how many communities and people were powered in the country.
“REA is fundamentally an institution for expanding opportunity.
“Every mini-grid inaugurated, every solar home system deployed, every market, school, primary healthcare centre, farm, or productive enterprise electrified…” Tegbe said.
