FG partners local investors on rural electricity.

The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo

The Federal Government on Thursday announced its partnership with local investors in providing electricity for rural communities in Nigeria.

It said the partnership was part of the Operation Light-up Rural Nigeria initiative introduced by the Federal Ministry of Power and inaugurated in three communities in Abuja few months ago.

The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said the government would extend the solar-powered initiative to remote parts of the country that were yet to be connected to the national grid.

Nebo who spoke through his Special Assistant on Renewable Energy, Dr. Albert Okorogu, said, “The Operation Light up Rural Nigeria Project is still very much on course. We are currently partnering with local or indigenous investors to ensure speedy execution of the electrification programme.

“It is the vision of Mr. President to provide steady power to all Nigerians wherever anyone finds himself. The entire electrification project which has been embarked upon is receiving prompt attention. There is no way one will say we are slow, that’s not the true picture of what is happening.

“At the moment, rural communities which are not connected to the national grid are being identified for solar-powered electricity. I expect that such communities should contact us so that they will be captured as well, in case any of them feel they are left behind.”

The minister assured that no effort would be spared in implementing the rural electrification project.

Meanwhile, Nebo told to a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Council, led by its Deputy Director-General, Mr. Kwanu Aning, that in no distant future Nigeria, in its quest for a robust energy mix, would look in the direction of nuclear energy.

He said it was no longer acceptable for the nation to put all its eggs in one basket, insisting that Nigeria would need to correct and avoid in the future, hiccups occasioned by lack of gas to power plants.

A statement from the ministry quoted the minister to have said that “we need coal, biomass, small hydros, solar and even nuclear. If it is designed, it is the best as it remained the cleanest and safest form of energy.”

PUNCH