By ABAH SUNDAY, Abuja
The Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Three (3) Executive Directors recently appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the for the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have assumed office in Abuja, a statement from the agency on Thursday said.
The new leadership has Abba Abubakar Aliyu as Acting Managing Director/CEO; Ayoade Gboyega, Executive Director, Corporate Services; Umar Abdullahi Umar, Executive Director, Technical Services; and Doris Uboh, Executive Director, Rural Electrification Fund (REF), while Olufemi Akinyelure takes over as Head of Project Management Unit (PMU) Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).
According to the statement, the new MD officially assumed leadership of the Agency on Tuesday, 12th March 14, 2024 when he arrived the premises of the Agency in company of all the three new EDs, and was received by some of the directors in the agency. He has since begun to steer the agency’s affairs towards delivering on its mandate of providing electricity access to unserved and underserved areas across the country.
The new Managing Director/CEO previously served as the Head of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) at the REA, overseeing the implementation of a $550 million facility from the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) at $350m and $200 million, respectively.
With over 20 years of experience in energy policy and organisational development, he also served as General Manager at the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and as Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of Power on Policy.
Abba has played pivotal roles in various sectors, including Power, Environment, Banking, Water Resources, Infrastructure, Education, and Health.
His leadership resulted in securing approval for the $750m DARES (Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scaleup) facility from the World Bank, building on the success of the NEP before assuming his new role as the MD/CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency.
The REA is the Implementing Agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) under the Federal Ministry of Power, tasked with the electrification of unserved and underserved communities to catalyze economic growth and improve quality of life for Nigerians.