The Federal Government, through the Rural Electrification Agency, has commissioned a 581kWp interconnected solar mini-grid in Oke-Oyi community, Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The project is part of efforts to expand electricity access and stimulate economic activities in underserved communities.

Nayo Tropical Technologies Limited developed the project under the Rural Electrification Fund-Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme. It was supported by the German Cooperation and the European Union through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, commissioned the project on Thursday. He commended President Bola Tinubu for his administration’s commitment to expanding electricity access and ensuring that power sector investments translate into tangible improvements in the lives of Nigerians.

Tegbe said the Oke-Oyi project reflected the administration’s broader approach of using electricity as an enabler of economic activities, employment and improved livelihoods.

“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,” the minister said.

He noted that reliable electricity could enable welders, grain millers and other businesses to expand their operations, while also creating opportunities for new enterprises.

The minister further stressed the importance of maintaining completed electricity projects so that communities continue to benefit from such investments over the long term.

The project has an installed capacity of 581kWp and comprises 1,336 solar panels and 84 batteries. About 10 kilometres of distribution cables and transformers support the electricity network.

It serves an estimated 13,000 residents, with connections extended to residential and productive users.

The intervention has also been linked to increased economic activity in Oke-Oyi. The community now has 12 welding businesses, two pure water companies, four grain mills, four aluminium artisan businesses, an ice-block production business and a cold-room/ice-fish depot.

Three electricity vendors are currently operating, while three more, including a female entrepreneur, are expected to be registered.

The Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, was represented at the event by the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu. He welcomed the project and described reliable electricity access as important to enterprise, employment and community development.

“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,” Abdulrazaq said.

The governor thanked the federal government, REA and the development and private-sector partners involved in the project. He expressed the state’s expectation that the intervention would continue to contribute to Oke-Oyi’s development.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of REA, Abubakar Aliyu, said the project demonstrated the agency’s focus on ensuring that electrification investments generate measurable economic benefits for beneficiary communities.

“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.

He said the emergence of new businesses and the expansion of productive activities in Oke-Oyi showed the economic value that reliable electricity can create for rural communities.

Aliyu added that sustaining the investment would remain a priority beyond the commissioning. He stressed the roles of communities, developers and other stakeholders in protecting the infrastructure.

The Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy, Karin Jansen, said the project demonstrated the importance of partnerships in delivering sustainable energy solutions to underserved communities.

“Today is more than connecting a community to electricity; it is about demonstrating what is possible when government, development partners, utilities, private-sector developers and communities work together towards a common objective,” Jansen said.

She commended the Federal Ministry of Power, REA, the Kwara State Government, IBEDC, Nayo Tropical Technologies, the European Union, GIZ and the Oke-Oyi community for their contributions to the project.

The community leader of Oke-Oyi, Oseni Elemoso, thanked the Federal Government, REA and the development partners for the intervention. He assured stakeholders of the community’s commitment to protecting the infrastructure.

“Today is a day of joy for the people of Oke-Oyi. We have longed for reliable electricity to improve our lives and economic activities, and we are already seeing new businesses emerge in our community,” the community leader said.

Construction of the project also created temporary jobs for residents, who worked as painters, welders, bricklayers, iron benders, tilers, plumbers, borehole diggers and excavation labourers.

The project forms part of the Federal Government’s broader efforts, through REA, to expand electricity access to unserved and underserved communities and promote renewable energy solutions that support economic and social development.