KEY POINTS
- President Tinubu praised REA’s off-grid push as Nigeria inaugurated Kogi’s largest solar mini-grid projects.
- Two new solar hybrid sites in Kogi bring 11 completed mini-grid projects under the DARES PBG Programme.
- More than 5,000 households will receive clean reliable electricity from the newly inaugurated Kogi projects.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu used his Democracy Day broadcast to do something specific: praise the Rural Electrification Agency by name and make the case that off-grid electricity is a democratic right, not a development afterthought.
Tinubu highlighted the REA’s aggressive drive to deploy off-grid and mini-grid power solutions to underserved communities, universities, markets and hospitals across Nigeria. He said his administration views reliable electricity as a democratic dividend owed to every Nigerian citizen.
“The REA, supported by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, is successfully ensuring that underserved communities participate fully in the nation’s growth story,” Tinubu said in the broadcast.
The president also pointed to broader structural reforms in the power sector. He signed the Electricity Act, which grants states authority to generate, transmit and distribute power independently. The Presidential Power Sector Task Force is addressing the metering deficit and has been authorized to raise a N4 trillion bond to settle verified legacy debts.
Kogi’s largest mini-grid projects go live
The Democracy Day broadcast came days after the REA inaugurated the largest solar hybrid mini-grid projects in North-Central Nigeria. The projects were delivered under the REA-DARES Performance-Based Grant Programme, funded by the World Bank and implemented by PriVida.
Two major installations went live: a 442-kilowatt system in Emewe Efopa in Dekina Local Government Area and a 704-kilowatt system in Offa in Olamaboro Local Government Area. Both communities sit in Kogi State, a region where energy access has historically lagged behind the country’s urban centers.
11 sites completed, 5,000 households powered
The two new installations join nine previously completed projects across Kogi State under the same programme. The total portfolio now stands at 11 mini-grid sites, delivering a combined 2.5 megawatts of clean, decentralized energy infrastructure across the state.
The newly commissioned grids are expected to provide clean, reliable electricity to more than 5,000 households. Local businesses, schools and healthcare facilities in both communities will also benefit directly from the installations.
REA’s approach under the DARES programme is built around performance-based grants, meaning developers only receive funding once they have demonstrated that installations are operational and serving verified customers. The model reduces implementation risk and focuses investment on results that communities can actually measure.
