By Babajide Okeowo
In a bid to provide access to electricity to those in the rural areas, an estimated 25 million Nigerians are set to benefit from a proposed off-grid solar home system across rural communities in the country and are expected to pay N4,000 monthly.
The federal government had announced that it would commence the installation of the N140 billion solar project for 5 million households in underserved and rural communities from the first week of December.
The federal government noted that the initiative is a continuation of coordinated implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. The initiative is implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
In a statement on Sunday, Laolu Akande, the senior special assistant on media and publicity to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, said the beneficiaries of the solar program, tagged Solar Power Naija, are expected to pay N4,000 monthly over a period of three years.
“An important aspect of the scheme is the option of outright ownership by beneficiaries at a cost ranging from N1, 500 per week to N4,000 monthly depending on the capacities, for a period of three years,” Akande said.
The solar installation is also expected to create about 250,000 jobs including in manufacturing, assembling, installations, maintenance, and payment systems.
