By Sylvia Akpan, Government House Correspondent
The Government of Cross River State has expressed its readiness to meet the counter-funding requirements of the Federal Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to provide a mini-grid power supply in rural communities.
Governor Bassey Otu expressed his administration’s willingness to meet the 30 percent counterpart funding, which is necessary for attracting REA’s interventions, and emphasized the importance of power supply in powering the rural economies to achieve energy and food security for the people of Cross River.
According to Governor Otu’s Chief Press Secretary, Gill Nsa, it is with the aim of boosting the micro-economies of the State and improving productivity levels, especially in the agricultural and rural communities.
He lauded the REA team for the 7-megawatt power project that will provide a steady power supply for the University of Calabar and the University Teaching Hospital, (UCTH) and for their technical capacity while commending President Bola Tinubu’s administration for putting round pegs in round holes.
Otu maintained that Cross River energy law would soon be in place, and the State with an energy capacity of nearly 600 megawatts would be an exporter of energy to other States.
The Managing Director of REA, Mallam Abba Aliu, explained that the agency promotes and coordinates electrification programs and administers the Rural Electrification Fund to provide rural electrification through public and private sector participation in the country.
He revealed that REA has secured $750 million in funding, making it the world’s largest public sector off-grid funded project.
Aliu added that the Cross River must provide 30% counterpart funding for the agency to provide 70% for projects located in a partner state. The State would also provide land, which is a crucial requirement for citing any project in any State.
He also revealed REA’s ‘Energy Agriculture Initiative,’ where solar mini-grids are provided to enhance agriculture while also assuring the governor that REA has marked Cross River as a flashpoint for various interventions.
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