THE Federal Government's noble intentions of widening access to electricity for the rural communities found expression in the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005 that created the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).The mandate of the REA was to promote rural electrification, set up and manage the Rural Electrification Fund, as well as co-ordinate rural electrification activities in the country.Probably as a result of the general uproar that greeted the alleged misappropriation of N5.2 billion meant for the agency which the former Chairman, House Committee on Power, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu and some members of the agency were accused of involvement, and coupled with the perceived failure of the Agency to live up to its mandate, the Ministry of Power scrapped it in September 2009. The late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua had, earlier in June 2009, sent a Bill to the National Assembly for an act to amend the Sector Power Reform Act 2005 to repeal the Rural Electrification Agency, and to transfer its functions and liabilities to the Ministry of Power.The intriguing development was that while the Bill seeking to repeal REA was still in the works, undergoing legislative process, Ministry of Power shut down the Agency, with effect from September 2009. The National Assembly consequently abandoned the Bill. Although the Ministry scrapped the agency, the Act establishing it was left intact, and it was on the strength of this and other advantages that the current helmsman at the Ministry, Professor Bart Nnaji, wants to resuscitate it.We endorse the renewed efforts of the Ministry of Power in working on the modalities for the restoration of the REA. Electricity is central to all, both in the urban and the rural areas, being at the core of commerce and industry and a critical element in guaranteeing good life for the people.The REA which started operations in March 2006 was set up as an independent public company to seek capital for sustained private sector-driven investment in rural electricity development in Nigeria for enhanced living conditions in the rural areas through improved agricultural, commercial, industrial and domestic activities. The major goal set for the agency was to increase rural and semi-urban access from its current estimate of 35 percent to 75 percent by the year 2020. Current statistics show that less than 50 percent of Nigerians are connected to the national grid. The Agency was therefore set up specifically to redress the situation by providing access to reliable and affordable electricity supply for rural dwellers irrespective of where they live and what they do.To deliver electricity to rural areas will entail significant investment in the rural electrification programmes that will necessitate the expansion of transmission and distribution lines to the vast rural Nigeria. The quantum of power can be increased by rehabilitating existing PHCN power plants and completion of on-going Independent Power Projects (IPP).It is our view that the time has come for government to adopt, beyond the stereotype, a more imaginative approach to the supply of electricity. In this connection, it will be appropriate to examine alternative sources of power generation, including solar, which can be designed in smaller packages and localised to supply clusters of communities, instead of the large, centralised plants. The smaller localised plants come cheaper and are easier to manage. A very good example is the Power Project in Ogun State conceived and executed by the Daniel administration, and which the Federal Government at various times, commended as a good model. This power project is made up of mini power stations of not more than two megawatts each scattered in 24 locations all over the state.There is a great need for rural electrification because of its immeasurable benefits. The prevalent rural-urban drift is sapping the productive capabilities in the rural communities, as educated, able-bodied young men and women who would otherwise engage in agricultural, commercial and industrial enterprises drift to urban centres in search of non- existent jobs. The migration to urban centres contributes, in the main, to the creation of slums in the cities. Either way, the economy suffers.Electrifying the rural areas would serve as an agent of socialisation, as well as a catalyst for economic activities, which in conjunction with provision of other infrastructure like good roads, potable water, health facilities and housing, will all combine to release the otherwise trapped entrepreneurial capabilities in those areas. Rural women, ever so enterprising, will have electricity to power their hair dressing salons, tailoring businesses and such other small scale ventures; just as male artisans will be empowered in their trades too.In all these, the government will take into account the level of poverty in the rural communities. Poverty is real and endemic in the villages and the level of economic development is low. Therefore, for rural dwellers to take advantage of the full benefits of electricity supply, either for business or social needs, government, as part of the small price it must pay toward developing the rural areas, would have to offer them a preferential electricity tariff that their economic circumstances can accommodate.As the Rural Electrification Agency prepares for its 'second coming', it is expected that those to manage it must have learnt the right lessons from the agency's past flaws and be ready to deliver on its mandates.
Click here to read full news..
