Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says the Federal Government has spent N6 billion on rural electrification projects that have 42,000 connections to an estimated 200,000 Nigerians.
Osinbajo disclosed this during the inauguration of the 100kWP solar hybrid mini-grid in Kasuwan Magani, Kajuru local government area of Kaduna State, on Thursday.
In the company of Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Minister of Power, Engr Abubakar D. Aliyu, and other top government functionaries, Osinbajo also inaugurated a modern market worth N2.2 billion.
Osinbajo said the solar power plant would not have been possible without the intervention of the present administration despite the passage of the Electric Power Reform Act in 2005, the activation of rural electrification only commenced in 2019, 14 years after the act was passed.
“Rural Electrification provides subsidies, a clear and transparent process…There is a key focus globally on renewable electrification that we can take advantage of, especially to expand rural electrification in the country, to provide electricity for underprivileged communities,” he said.
“This rural electrification approach is laudable and I must commend the state governor for this initiative. We shall continue to expand rural electrification.”
On the market, Osinbajo said, the market symbolises effective coordination between the federal government and state government.
He said the project was executed by the ministry of power’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) in partnership with the Kaduna State government.
