The Federal Government of Nigeria has deployed contractors to resume work on all previously abandoned rural electrification projects across the country, according to Abba Aliyu, Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Rural Electrification Agency.

The REA, tasked with overseeing rural electrification nationwide, is driving the initiative to ensure completion of these critical infrastructure projects.

Speaking to journalists in Lagos on Tuesday during the launch of Bellazir Energy Limited, Aliyu revealed that he inherited numerous stalled projects from his predecessor.

However, he emphasized that none remain abandoned, signaling a renewed push to enhance electricity access in rural communities.

The move is expected to bolster Nigeria’s rural economy by improving power supply, a key factor in driving local businesses and improving living standards.

“We met a number of abandoned projects. I’m not sure if they are up to a thousand, and to date, there’s no single abandoned project. We have, one by one, paid all the outstanding to contractors, mobilised them back to the sites, and completed all these projects.

“I’m not sure there’s a single abandoned project, maybe incomplete based on the fact that the budget provision is not enough to conclude it. But we don’t have abandoned projects in REA at the moment,” he stated.

Speaking further, Aliyu revealed that the agency has several key initiatives aimed at reducing electricity gaps in Nigeria.

According to him, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has approved the implementation of the Renewable Energy Asset Management Company.

The company, he said, will warehouse all the big REA projects on its balance sheet, adding that the agency is leveraging the balance sheet to raise more funding. He noted that the agency is planning to raise up to N1tn for project execution.

“There are a number of key initiatives now that the Rural Electrification Agency is looking at. One is the implementation of the Renewable Energy Asset Management Company for which the Honourable Minister of Power has given us approval.

“This is a company that will warehouse all the big REA projects on its balance sheet and leverage that balance sheet to raise more funding. We are looking at raising close to a trillion naira for us to continue to implement projects,” he said.

He listed other ongoing initiatives, including the proposed Renewable Energy University, the electrification of universities, and several other related projects.

“We are also looking at the establishment of the Renewable University, which has started. A consulting company is doing a feasibility study for the establishment of that. We are looking at completing the Energising Education Phase Three, which is eight universities that we are about to complete.

“This includes the University of Yola, the University of Port Harcourt, the University of Uyo, the Federal University of Technology in Imo, the Federal Universities in Nasarawa and Lokoja.

“Also, we are looking at starting Phase Four, which covers another eight sets of universities — Obafemi Awolowo University, the University of Ibadan, the University of Lagos, the Federal University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Amadu Bello University, the University of Benin, Universities in Taraba and Jigawa,” he added.