25 Million Nigerians To Benefit From The Off-Grid Energy Scheme 1
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25 Million Nigerians To Benefit From The Off-Grid Energy Scheme

The Federal Government has announced a scheme aimed at rolling out five million solar systems to provide power to communities

Over 25 million Nigerians are expected to benefit from this and generate N7 billion yearly. The Federal Government through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) also stated that as many as 250, 000 jobs would be created through the scheme.

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo said the initiative is part of government efforts for economic recovery. He also stated that the development was part of the government’s “committed to resolving electricity challenges and delivering on the president’s objective to deliver efficient, stable and reliable power to Nigerian”.

The REA Managing Director, Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad revealed that companies involved in the assembly/manufacturing of components of off-grid solar solutions must be 70 per cent Nigerian-owned as the scheme is meant to facilitate and grow local productivity.

He said: “This is a testament to our dedication and commitment to scaling the off-grid solar market through the provision of long-term low-interest credit facilities to the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) pre-qualified home solar value chain players. It includes manufacturers and assemblers of solar components and off-grid energy developers and retailers in the country”.

Salihijo added that the initiative would be funded with a CBN facility. The facility would also make low-cost local currency debt available to qualified companies, he said.

“Private companies will be supported to employ more Nigerians to be able to provide services in the area of manufacturing, distribution, installation, project management and after-sales services. The programme also supports manufacturers and assemblers of solar technology to set up production facilities in Nigeria to support the off-grid energy sector with about 250,000 new jobs,” he said.

Off further described the programme as a deliberate and strategic plan response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He continued saying that the development shows the government’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2030.

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