FG’s Solar Mini-grid Project Sparks New Businesses, Jobs In Kwara

At least 12 welding businesses, two pure water companies, four grain mills, four aluminium businesses, an ice-block production enterprise and a cold-room/ice-fish depot have emerged or expanded around the new electricity project in Oke-Oyi, the headquarters of Ilorin East local government area of Kwara State.

The federal government through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) yesterday commissioned the 581kWp interconnected solar mini-grid project under the Rural Electrification Fund–Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme (REF-IMAS), in partnership with Nayo Tropical Technologies Limited, the German Cooperation and the European Union through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

Designed to provide more reliable electricity to the community, the project has a total installed capacity of 581kWp, comprising 1,336 solar panels and 84 batteries.

With an estimated population of 13,000 people, Oke-Oyi were already witnessing the practical effects of improved electricity supply.

The Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, represented by the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly,Engr. Yakubu Danladi- Salihu said reliable electricity is critical to strengthening enterprise and improving livelihoods.

“For Kwara State, every intervention that expands reliable electricity access to our communities is an important step towards creating a more conducive environment for enterprise, employment and improved livelihoods,” the governor said.

The minister of Power, Chief Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, said the project demonstrated the connection between electricity access and economic development.

“The purpose of electrification is ultimately to improve lives and create opportunities. What we are commissioning today in Oke-Oyi is an investment in the productive capacity of the community,” Tegbe said.

He added that electricity would enable businesses such as welding workshops and grain mills to expand their operations while creating opportunities for new enterprises.

The managing director of REA, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, said the success of the project should be measured by the economic opportunities created for the beneficiaries.

“The real measure of an electrification project is not only the infrastructure we commission, but the opportunities that reliable electricity creates for the people who use it,” Aliyu said.

The chairman of Ilorin East local government area, Mal. Garba Agbelere, urged residents to protect the facility against vandalism and misuse, stressing that the mini-grid should be treated as a collective community asset.

The head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy, Dr Karin Jansen, described the project as an example of what could be achieved through collaboration among government, development partners, utilities, private-sector developers and communities.

The community leader of Oke-Oyi, Alh Oseni Olarewaju Elemoso, described the commissioning of the project as a significant moment for residents and assured stakeholders that the community would protect the infrastructure.