Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has flagged off a solar electricity project for communities in the six geopolitical zones not captured in the national grid.
The programme which has commenced in Jangefe community of Jigawa state is expected to deliver electricity to about 25 million Nigerians.
Osinbajo said the programme is part of the determination of the Buhari administration to ensure that millions more have access to cheap and environment-friendly renewable power.
He said the programme coming under the Economic Sustainability Plan is taking off with the Jangefe Community in Roni Local Government Area (in the Kazaure Emirate) of Jigawa State and will get to all geopolitical zones in the country soon.
“After Jangefe the rollout will continue “across the 6 geopolitical zones in Edo, Lagos, Adamawa, Anambra, Kebbi and Plateau. Other Solar companies are also in the pipeline for the Solar Power Naija facility to continue the march to 5 million connections during the life of this administration,” Osinbajo said.
A statement from the vice president’s office notes that the commencement of the Solar Power Naija programme means the community will get 1,000 Solar Home Systems connections for its about 5,000 population.
It said the Vice President, flagged off the commencement of the installation in Jigawa, in what is part of a 100,000 scheme with A-SOLAR, a local solar power company implementing aspects of the ESP Solar Power Naija scheme.
It pointed out that the Jangefe community in Jigawa, which is the first location to be covered by the A-Solar company, will pay monthly energy payments until the systems are fully paid for at the point in which there will be a transfer of ownership to each consumer in the community.
The Vice President noted that the “President had emphasised that we could no longer rely solely on the grid if we were to electrify the whole country. This, he said, meant that we had to develop an effective strategy for decentralizing power supply. Two obvious things to do were, first to think of implementing more off-grid solutions and to use renewable energy especially solar power.”
“Another challenge turned opportunity was Covid-19 and our response to the economic fallouts of the pandemic – the Economic Sustainability Plan. A fundamental rationale for the plan was to retain existing jobs and create new jobs. A mass solar programme seemed like a real chance to kill several birds with one stone; electrify the country and in the process, create thousands of jobs from solar assembly and manufacturing plants to installers, payment system operators, and maintenance of solar systems once installed.
“Mr. President, therefore, approved the inclusion of what came to be known as the Solar Power Naija programme in the Economic Sustainability Plan which he asked me to chair.
“The Solar Power Naija programme which is designed by the Rural Electrification Agency is an ambitious initiative that aims to create 5 million connections through a 140 billion Naira financing programme that will support private developers to provide power for 5 million households, which means providing electricity for up to 25 million Nigerians,” he said.
Prof. Osinbajo further stated that the solar power programme is a public-private sector partnership supported by concessionary lending via the Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks.
He noted that structures have been put in place to make the connections costs affordable for all.
“In addition to the concessionary lending rates, the Government has provided subsidies and rebates for private developers to the tune of over $200 million under the Rural Electrification Agency and World Bank Nigeria Electrification Programme. The programme incorporates several innovative solutions to increase affordability for the citizens while also providing sufficient comfort to investors and financiers alike,” he stated.
