Fayose inaugurated as REA board’s chair, promises unprecedented results

The Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Tegbe, on Friday inaugurated former Gov. Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).

Also inaugurated are Alhaji Ahmadu Abubakar and Mr Ilyasu Makinta and three others as members and non-executive directors, with Mr Abba Aliyu as Managing Director.

Fayose, who thanked President Bola Tinubu for finding them worthy said his mission in REA is to take the agency to greater heights by providing the needed political will.

He promised to do everything possible to ensure that the agency gets funds to achieve its long and short-term programmes for Nigerians to get electricity.

“Work has started in earnest; we are reaching out very fast and appealing to people to ensure the work is done.

“I want to use this window to assure Nigerians that your expectation about my appointment and my colleagues will not be dashed.

“We will give our best to achieve the renewed hope of President Tinubu for the country to be better for us all,”

He noted that a number of challenges faced in the power sector were at the grassroots.

He said that the assignment given to them was beyond providing electricity but also looking at the population of the country who need to feel the impact of the energy.

“When this happens, the people will forever be indebted to the agency,” he said

On his part, REA’s managing director thanked Tinubu for the opportunity to serve.

Aliyu promised that the agency would continue to do its best to ensure electricity gets to the served and underserved communities.

Earlier at the event, Tegbe said the Nigeria electricity sector was moving from counting kilowatts and megawatts to powering more communities in the country.

The minister explained that REA occupies a unique and strategic place within Nigeria’s power sector architecture, adding that its mandate extends well beyond connecting communities to electricity.

“We are moving from just counting kilowatts and megawatts to how many communities and people were powered in the country.

“REA is fundamentally an institution for expanding opportunity.

“Every mini-grid inaugurated, every solar home system deployed, every market, school, primary healthcare centre, farm, or productive enterprise electrified