Bol stems rural-urban migration, inaugurates solar power plant for Osun communities

To stem the challenge of rural-urban migration, the Bank of Industry (BoI) recently inaugurated a 24-killowatts (kw) micro-grid solar solution in two Osun communities.

The move, according to Rasheed Olaoluwa, managing director, Bol, is in furtherance of the United Nations campaign for eco-friendly sources of energy.

With this initiative, Osun State has become the first state to benefit from Bol’s intervention in the provision of renewable energy in South West Nigeria.

The solar electrification project is located at Idi-Ata and Onibambu communities in the state.

Rural communities are the worst hit in terms of poor access to electricity, Olaoluwa said, especially the off-grid arrears, which have always been without power supply and have resigned their fate to the use of kerosene lanterns, oil lamps, and other types of dangerous and unhealthy sources of light to be able to live their daily lives.

The development, he said, has hampered the socio-economic development of the nation as it has created an atmosphere that is not conducive for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which are the drivers of the nation’s economic growth to thrive.

He argued that the situation remained one of the main factors responsible for the concept of rural-urban migration.

He lamented that the 45000 electricity generated from the national grid was grossly inadequate for a leading African economy like Nigeria with a population of 170 million people, hence the intervention of Bol and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

According to him, the situation remained one of the main factors responsible for the concept of rural-urban migration.

The bank is starting off with the provision of long-term financing for the installation of off-grid solar home systems in six communities in a pilot phase, as part of its Solar Energy Partnership with UNIDO, the Bol boss disclosed.

‘‘These communities, with an average of 200 homes each, are located in Anambra, Edo, Gombe, Kaduna, Niger and Osun states. Today, we have come to Osun State in partnership with Arnergy Solar Limited to commission a 24kw micro-grid solar electrification system in Idi-ita/Onibambu, a community which hitherto had no access to electricity,’’ he said.

Also speaking, Governor of Osun State, Raufu Aregbesola, urged the leader of the two communities to judiciously protect the installation and ensure that payments were promptly made for energy consumed so that the scheme could be self-sustaining, thus encouraging the investor to replicate such in other locations within the state.

Aregbesola, who was represented by Moshood Adeoti, secretary to the state government, said: ‘‘As a responsible government, I want the Ministry of Water Resources, Rural Development and Community Affairs to carry out due diligence on the issue of appropriate pricing and adequate supply to each household. This is to ensure consumer protection against exploitation.”

In his address, Femi Adeyemo, CEO, Arnergy, said the application of technology for industrialisation was key to enthroning sustainable economic growth and development.

He explained that the firm’s distributed off-grid solar rural electrification was orchestrated to help reduce the wide gap/deficit in the energy sector in the country.

‘‘Therefore, Arnergy’s distributed off-grid solar rural electrification is orchestrated to help reduce the wide gap/deficit in the energy sector of the country. It is heartrending to note that more than 60 percent of Nigerians are not connected to the grid and do not have any access to electricity,’’ he said