{"id":126561,"date":"2026-02-26T16:48:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/?p=126561"},"modified":"2026-02-26T16:54:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:54:38","slug":"ecowas-commission-and-nigerias-rural-electrification-agency-sign-mous-to-advance-electrification-of-public-institutions-under-rogeap-pilot-programme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/?p=126561","title":{"rendered":"ECOWAS COMMISSION AND NIGERIA\u2019S RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AGENCY SIGN MoUS TO ADVANCE ELECTRIFICATION OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS UNDER ROGEAP PILOT PROGRAMME"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) under the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) Pilot Programme to support the electrification of public institutions, particularly primary health centres and schools. The initiative seeks to expand access to reliable and sustainable energy in underserved communities, thereby improving service delivery in the health and education sectors and contributing to inclusive socio-economic development.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The signing ceremony, held on 23 February 2026 at the ECOWAS\u2019 Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, \u00a0brought together senior officials of ECOWAS and REA, as well as key political leaders, underscoring the importance of energy access as a foundation for sustainable development and human security in the region.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In his address, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E Alieu Omar TOURAY, emphasized that development is not possible in the absence of electricity, noting that rural electrification remains a critical priority for the Community. According to him, access to reliable energy creates multiple opportunities for economic growth, improved social services, and poverty reduction. He further highlighted that the initiative is particularly timely and necessary for Niger State, Abuja and Nasarawa State where energy access remains a pressing development need.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Also speaking at the event, the Governor of Niger State, Umar Bago, expressed strong enthusiasm for the collaboration between ECOWAS and REA. He underscored the urgent energy needs of the state and highlighted electricity as a key driver for future development. Governor Bago further advocated for expanded cooperation between Niger State and ECOWAS in key sectors such as education and agriculture, noting that strengthened partnerships would help build sustainable development pathways for communities across the state.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In his remarks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of REA, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, situ\u00adated the partnership within the global context of electricity access challenges. He revealed that an estimated 935 million people across Africa remain without access to electricity, with about 600 million of them living in Sub-Saharan Africa, and a significant proportion located in West Africa. He described the collaboration with ECOWAS as both timely and essential, stressing that joint action is required to close the energy access gap and deliver sustainable solutions to vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The signing of the MoUs under the ROGEAP Pilot Programme represents a strategic step toward improving access to electricity for public institutions in West Africa. The partnership reaffirms the shared commitment of ECOWAS and REA to promoting inclusive development, strengthening social services, and advancing regional efforts to ensure that energy access becomes a driver of resilience, opportunity, and long-term economic growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) under the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) Pilot Programme to support the electrification of public institutions, particularly primary health centres and schools. The initiative seeks to expand access to reliable and sustainable energy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":126562,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[300,480,12,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-news","category-info-cedeao-2","category-news","category-press-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=126561"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126580,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126561\/revisions\/126580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/126562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=126561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=126561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}