ABUJA, Nigeria — President Bola Tinubu has commended the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) for deploying off-grid and mini-grid power solutions to underserved communities across Nigeria, as the agency commissioned its largest solar hybrid mini-grid projects in the North-central region.
Okay News reports that Tinubu made the remarks in his Democracy Day broadcast on June 12, 2026, reiterating that reliable electricity is a democratic dividend owed to every Nigerian, while highlighting ongoing power sector reforms under his administration.
“To address the problems besetting the sector, I signed the Electricity Act, which grants states authority to generate, transmit, and distribute power. The Presidential Power Sector Task Force is working hard to reduce the metering deficit and has been authorised to raise a N4 trillion bond to settle verified legacy debts. Alongside these reforms, the REA, supported by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, is successfully ensuring that underserved communities participate fully in the nation’s growth story,” Tinubu stated.
The newly commissioned projects, delivered under the REA-DARES Performance-Based Grant (PBG) Programme funded by the World Bank and implemented by PriVida, include major installations in Emewe Efopa, Dekina Local Government Area (442kW) and Offa, Olamaboro Local Government Area (704kW) in Kogi State. 11 mini-grid sites have been completed across Kogi State under the DARES PBG Programme, bringing combined installed capacity to 2.5MW. The newly commissioned grids are expected to provide electricity to more than 5,000 households while powering local businesses, schools, and healthcare facilities.
More than 1,000 mini-grids are currently being developed across the country. An additional 48 interconnected mini-grids are being deployed in collaboration with 11 Distribution Companies, set to inject a further 288MW of clean, reliable capacity.
The World Bank-supported Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) initiative targets electricity access for over 17.5 million Nigerians, covering more than 2.5 million households through 1,350 localised mini-grids, including 250 interconnected systems.
Under the Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme (IMAS), implemented in partnership with the European Union, the REA has deployed 11 interconnected mini-grids. A 504kW project in Epe, Lagos State is ready for commissioning by Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe, forming the first phase of a broader 5MW regional plan.
A dedicated Korean energy project has introduced advanced storage and smart-grid configurations with deployments of 900kW in Rubochi and 100kW in Ikwa, FCT, Abuja.
The Rural Electrification Fund (REF) is advancing over 50 last-mile mini-grids in remote communities entirely cut off from conventional transmission corridors. A collaborative programme with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Africa Mini-grid Programme has established 23 specialised mini-grids, including a recently commissioned solar mini-grid in Daddara community, Katsina State, engineered to power post-harvest processing, milling, and cold-storage infrastructure.
A 1MW facility engineered by KELEMM Engineering in Abuja is operational, with over 40MW of capacity awaiting deployment in industrial and strategic centres. Nigeria has 3.7 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity currently in its development pipeline, with locally manufactured solar panels being exported to regional neighbours including Accra, Ghana.
