Nigerians want improved access to electricity supply – VP Shettima tells REA

Vice President Kashim Shettima has implored the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to double efforts in the bid to accelerate Nigeria’s journey towards universal electricity access and ensure Nigerians get more access to power supply.

To this end, he granted REA’s request to enter into a partnership with the National Economic Council (NEC) in order to have access to state governors and engage them in the drive towards electrifying communities across the country.

This is just as the agency said it has secured a grant of $750 million from the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) for rural electrification projects across Nigeria.

Shettima gave the charge on Friday when a delegation from REA, led by its Managing Director/CEO, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, made a presentation on the National Electrification and Implementation Plan (NESIP) to the Vice President in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“To me, I appreciate you, I adore you, I respect you, but we need to think outside the box and we need to think big,” Shettima who is Chairman of NEC, told the REA delegation, assuring them of maximum support from the Council and the state governors.

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“The most startling revelation of this presentation has to do with the correlation between access to electricity and financial inclusion. Hence, I believe our job is cut out for us, and I want to assure you that we are going to partner with your agency so that we can meet the aspiration of the Nigerian people for access to electricity,” he added.

Urging REA to double efforts in giving more Nigerians access to electricity, the Vice President commended the agency for doing an outstanding job, taking into cognizance its efforts in several other sectors.

He however scored the agency low in terms of publicity, noting that it has performed poorly in creating awareness and keeping Nigerians abreast with ongoing efforts to address the electricity deficit in the country.

He said, “I am afraid you need to overhaul your PR management team. People need to know – Nigerians ought to know

“At one point in time, we were getting 5 megawatts from the grid for Borno State. Just one plant is generating 12 megawatts for the University of Maiduguri and the Teaching Hospital. But you have not been publicizing your activities. So, I will ask you to look at your media team and see to it that you get the loudest decibel in the social media space and the traditional media”.