By Seun Ibiyemi
The Federal Government has commenced the construction of a 17.7-megawatt (MW) interconnected mini-grid in Ibadan, Oyo State, targeting at least 20 hours of daily electricity supply to five communities along the Iwo Road axis.
The project, developed by Paras Energy & Natural Resources Development Limited, is being implemented through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) under the Federal Ministry of Power to improve electricity reliability and support economic activities.
The beneficiary communities are Bola, Jiboye, Ogo-Oluwa, Molade-Adelubi and Sooko Elega.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the initiative reflected the Federal Government’s commitment to expanding electricity generation and ensuring that improved power supply translated into economic opportunities for Nigerians.
He explained that the government’s strategy went beyond expanding infrastructure to ensuring that additional generation capacity supported households, businesses, industries and other productive enterprises.
“Our objective is clear: to increase the quantum of electricity available to Nigerians, improve the reliability of supply and ensure that electricity becomes an enabler of productivity, investment and economic growth,” Tegbe said.
He added that projects such as the Ibadan mini-grid would bring electricity infrastructure closer to communities and commercial centres while complementing efforts to improve the national grid.
The minister said the decentralised power initiative was being pursued alongside government interventions to strengthen generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure across the country.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the REA, Abba Aliyu, said the 17.7MW project demonstrated the scale of distributed energy investments being developed under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Aliyu said the agency was prioritising projects capable of delivering significant economic benefits by deploying generation capacity where demand was high and leveraging private-sector investment.
“This groundbreaking is about more than 17.7 megawatts of new generation capacity. It is about what that capacity will enable. Reliable electricity means longer operating hours for businesses, lower dependence on expensive self-generation, increased productivity, new investment and ultimately more jobs and economic opportunities,” he said.
According to him, the Ibadan project forms part of a broader pipeline of distributed energy investments being facilitated by the agency to improve electricity reliability and stimulate economic development.
He cited previous interconnected mini-grid projects in Pankshin, Plateau State, and Kofare, Mbamba and Saminaka in Adamawa State as examples of the REA’s ongoing interventions.
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Upon completion, the Ibadan project will also include the installation of 18 new transformers to strengthen electricity distribution across the beneficiary communities.
The REA is simultaneously advancing another 17.7MW of projects in Ibadan targeting strategic institutions and economic centres, including the University College Hospital, the University of Ibadan and The Polytechnic, Ibadan.
The projects are designed to establish clusters of reliable electricity generation around communities, public institutions and centres of economic activity.
The Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, commended the Federal Government for the intervention, saying improved electricity supply would benefit businesses, households and livelihoods across the communities.
He also thanked Tinubu for infrastructure projects being implemented in Oyo State and called for their timely completion.
Managing Director of Paras Energy & Natural Resources Development Limited, Yashwant Kumar, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to delivering the project efficiently and in line with the required standards.
Kumar said reliable electricity would have a significant impact on residents and businesses within the project area.
The project forms part of the government’s broader effort to complement national grid improvements with decentralised generation, with the REA emphasising that the ultimate objective is to translate new electricity capacity into increased productivity, investment, employment and improved livelihoods.
