The Rotary Club of Abuja, Maitama, in partnership with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), on Friday lit up a 100-year-old Galuwyi community in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with off-grid energy.
The community, which is an adopted village of the Club, alongside Galwuyi 2 and Rugan Fulani communities, is a beneficiary of 30 solar panels inaugurated in the community.
The Club also commissioned a renovated health centre and laid the foundation for the Centre’s maternal wing in the community.
Speaking at the event, the District Governor, District 9125 of Rotary International, Dr. Goddy Nnadi, said the Club, with the support of the Rural Electrification Agency, upon its findings, installed the solar power system in the community and called on the beneficiaries to maintain it adequately.
He said: “Upon findings that the community had been without light since its existence, Rotary Club of Abuja, Maitama, and REA stepped in by installing the solar power equipment. I plead with members of the community to ensure that it is maintained and used judiciously.”
Earlier, the president of the Rotary Club of Abuja, Maitama, Rtn. Yusuf Alli, had said the project was part of the club’s programmes to alleviate poverty, adding that it was conceived about 10 months ago.
Alli said the 30 households from the three communities of Galuwyi 1, 2, and Rugan Fulani would benefit from the project.
“This project was conceived about 10 months ago when the managing director of REA attended my investiture as the president of the Rotary Club of Abuja, Maitama. We did a need assessment and discovered that in the last 40 to 50 years this village has not experienced any form of electricity; hence, the usefulness of the project. Galuwyi 1, Galuwyi 2 and Rugan Fulani communities would benefit from the project,” he said.
In his speech, the Managing Director of REA, Engr. Ahmad Salihijo, said the 30 solar panels were capable of generating 40 watts of electricity, and pledged that the government would continue to provide access to reliable electric power supply for rural dwellers “irrespective of where they live.”
“We will ensure that un-served and underserved communities across Nigeria continue to feel the impact of the federal government’s energy interventions,” he said.
In his remarks, the District Head of Galuwyi, Ezekiel Sariki, commended the Rotary Club of Abuja Maitama and REA for the gesture, saying the community, which was founded over 100 years ago, had never enjoyed electricity until Rotary Club and REA’s intervention.
He promised that it would be judiciously used and gave the assurance that it would be secured, even as he commended the Rotary Club for its numerous interventions in the community.
