Atiku's Aide Calls for Scrapping of Rural Electrification Agency

On Tuesday, Demola Olarenwaju, the Senior Political Assistant to Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, proposed that the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) should be abolished, similar to efforts made by former presidents Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan during their administrations. Olarenwaju asserted that the Federal Government, led by President Bola Tinubu, should not be involved in rural electrification, as he believes that states should independently manage power supply within their jurisdictions.

He stated, “The Act itself is now compromised and REA should be scrapped as Yar’Adua tried to do in 2009.” Olarenwaju emphasized that if the government claims states can generate, transmit, and distribute power, it should not maintain an agency that undermines state authority. This statement came shortly after Tinubu appointed Ayodele Fayose, a former governor of Ekiti State, as the Chairman of the REA, part of a larger appointment of 25 individuals to lead various federal ministries.