Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has officially assumed office as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), pledging to use his position to improve electricity access across Nigeria.
Fayose was inaugurated alongside other members of the REA governing board by the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, in Abuja.
The development was disclosed on Friday by Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Among those also inaugurated were Alhaji Ahmadu Abubakar, Mr Ilyasu Makinta and three other members and non-executive directors of the agency. Abba Aliyu, meanwhile, assumed office as the Managing Director of the REA.
Speaking after his inauguration, Fayose expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for giving him and other appointees the opportunity to serve on the board.
He said his immediate priority would be to provide the necessary political support for the agency while ensuring that its programmes receive adequate funding to achieve their objectives.
Fayose stressed that the success of rural electrification programmes would depend largely on the availability of resources and effective implementation.
“My mission in REA is to take the agency to greater heights by providing the needed political will.
“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 said.
The former governor further noted that many of the challenges facing Nigeria’s electricity sector are concentrated at the grassroots level, making the work of the REA particularly important in providing power to underserved and unserved communities.
According to him, the agency’s responsibility goes beyond simply connecting communities to electricity, as the ultimate goal should be to ensure that residents experience meaningful economic and social benefits from improved access to energy.
He said the new board would therefore focus not only on expanding electricity coverage but also on ensuring that the impact of energy access is felt by communities across the country.
“The assignment given to us is 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,” Fayose stated.
His appointment comes as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to address Nigeria’s electricity challenges through rural electrification, renewable energy projects and mini-grid development.
The new REA leadership is expected to work towards expanding access to electricity in rural and underserved communities while supporting the implementation of the government’s broader energy and development agenda.
