AS part of its contribution to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) hashanded over four completed solar hybrid mini grid plants in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun states, respectively.
The projects handed over to authorities at the health centres include a 53.1KWp solar hybrid mini grid installed at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Covid-19 isolation centre; 25KWp solar hybrid mini grid at Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Public Health Laboratory in Lagos as well as a 20KWp solar hybrid mini grid at 128-Bed Ikenne Isolation Centre and 10KWp solar mini hybrid mini grid at 100-Bed Iberekodo isolation Center in Ogun state.
The initiative is to support government’s efforts based on the outlined intervention and palliative measures of President Muhammadu Buhari, in his national broadcast of March 29, 2020, and the Minister of Power directives on the role of REA in complementing the Federal Government’s efforts on COVID-19.
Also, the agency outlined measures towards containing COVID-19 in the country by providing emergency electrification of COVID-19 health centres across the country, collaboration with development partners on accelerating disbursement to qualifying developers as well as engaging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Federal Ministry of Power towards inclusion of energy companies under the COVID-19 intervention program of the bank.
In his address during the handover, the Managing Director/CEO of the agency, Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, said “the REA being the implementing agency of the Federal Government for the electrification of unserved and underserved areas across the country hereby provide and handover this 53.1KWp solar
hybrid mini grid at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital COVID-19 Isolation Centre. This project is one of initial four solar hybrid mini grids implemented by the REA at Covid-19 health facilities. The other three are 25KWp solar mini grid at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Public Health Laboratory in Lagos, 20KWp solar hybrid mini grid at 128 Bed Ikenne Isolation Centre and 10KWp solar Mini hybrid mini grid at 100 Bed Iberekodo Isolation Centre in Ogun state. Implementing these projects will provide clean, safe and reliable electricity to enable our health workers thrive towards the fight against this Covid-19 disease”.
The representatives of NCDC present applauded the gesture by the REA “for providing these solar hybrid mini grids to COVID-19 isolation centres and the public health laboratory in Lagos state. This will truly help our health workers in containing the spread of COVID-19 in the country”.
Furthermore, the agency said while complementing the efforts of the Federal Government towards containing the spread of COVID-19 will continue fulfilling its mandate of providing clean, safe and reliable electricity to rural areas across the country.
The REA is the Implementing agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria, under the Federal
Ministry of Power, tasked with the electrification of unserved and underserved communities to catalyse economic growth and improve quality of life for Nigerians.
REA is currently implementing the Nigeria Electrification Project, Energising Economies Initiative, Energising Education Programme, Rural Electrification Fund, Energy Database and Capital projects.
The agency is responsible for creating an enabling environment for private sector-led projects which includes conducting pre-feasibility assessments, energy audits, enumeration, data analysis, identification of qualified private sector developers, and project stakeholder engagements.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Buy and read digital replicas of your TRIBUNE titles by subscribing through E-VENDING
Chief Richard Akinjide, Second Republic Attorney General, Is Dead
Chief Richard Akinjide, Second Republic Attorney General and Minister of Justice is dead. He died on Tuesday morning at the University College Hospital of old age-related ailment. He was aged 88. According to a source close to the family, the remains of the legal luminary has been deposited at a morgue… Read full story
FG Extends Closure Of Airports By Two Weeks
Nigeria’s government has extended the closure of airports in the country by two weeks due to what it called the continuous spread of the… Read full story
Six Nature Facts Related To Coronaviruses
DID you know that around 60 per cent of all infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic, as are 75 per cent of all emerging infectious diseases, in other words they come to us via animals? Zoonoses that emerged or re-emerged recently are Ebola, bird flu, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), the Nipah virus… Read full story
COVID-19 Responses Must Be Built On Human Solidarity — ILO Tells World Bank, IMF
The Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder, has called for an immediate human-centred response through global solidarity to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his submissions to the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), the ILO Director-General… Read full story