By Patience Chat Moses
The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Khalil Halilu, and the Managing Director (MD) of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, have agreed to work together to deploy NASENI Solar resources and other renewable energy technologies, to increase electricity supply to rural communities in Nigeria.
This commitment was the outcome of discussions between the two chief executives in Abuja over the weekend, when the EVC/CEO of NASENI visited the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) office as part of his efforts to engage with stakeholders to promote the adoption of NASENI’s technologies.
The EVC of NASENI, who assumed office two weeks ago as NASENI’s Chief Executive, noted that the focus of the partnership is to hit the ground running by nurturing effective collaborations with the right stakeholders who will assist NASENI to fulfil its mandate of providing the science and engineering infrastructure base for Nigeria’s businesses and economy to thrive.
According to him, the strategy, going forward, for NASENI includes knocking on the doors of potential end-users of the Agency’s technology and engineering products, making off-take of our Research & Development (R&D) easy, while also bringing the direct impact of our work to bear on the Nigerian economy.”
The two chief executives pledged to work together to bring down the cost of solar power installation in rural areas, through efforts such as increased local production of solar panels by NASENI.
The REA MD also added that the overall goal, is to facilitate the Federal Government’s ambition to achieve the electrification of Nigeria’s rural areas in record time.