According to him, “President Buhari had emphasised that we could no longer rely solely on the grid if we were to electrify the whole country, which means that we had to develop an effective strategy for decentralizing power supply.
The Vice President, who flagged off the Solar Power Naija programme today, April 10, at Jangefe, Roni Local Government Area of Jigawa State, said that it is part of the plan to deliver electricity to about 25 million Nigerians whose communities are off the grid.
Osinbajo stressed the determination of the Buhari administration to ensure that millions more will now have access to cheap and environmentally friendly renewable power, under the Economic Sustainability Plan.
“The Solar Power Naija programme which is designed by the Rural Electrification Agency is an ambitious initiative that aims to create 5 million connections through a 140 billion Naira financing programme that will support private developers to provide power for 5 million households, which means providing electricity for up to 25 million Nigerians.”
Professor Osinbajo said that the solar power programme is a public-private sector partnership supported by concessionary lending via the Central Bank of Nigeria and commercial banks.
