The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has advised Nigerians to be conscious of safe electricity installations and practices in their homes in order to prevent fire incidences therein.
Damilola Ogunbiyi , the Director-General of the agency ,gave the advice following the fire incident which razed some shops in Iponri Market in Lagos on .
She said the fire incident would not in any way deter the Energizing Economies Initiative from electrifying more shops and adding value to the lives of Nigerians who gave President Muhammadu Buhari mandate to steer the ship of the nation
She added: “This unfortunate incident will not deter EEI’s objective to electrify over 80,000 shops, empower over 340,000 micro, small and medium size enterprises (MSMEs), create over 2,500 jobs with the initial 16 economic clusters while serving over 18 million Nigerians. It is a stark reminder that safe electricity installations and practices are paramount. It is a requirement on all EEI projects and a measure we take very seriously.”
According to her, the Energising Economies Initiative is already having transformational impact on businesses in Iponri market as well as other markets across the country through steady power supply, increased economic activity and business growth, job creation and enhancing the customer experience.
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) wishes to inform the public that a fire occurred at Iponri Market, Lagos State, on April 15, 2019 at around 7:00 pm
Regrettably, about 17 shops were affected by the fire but thankfully there was no loss of life.
The REA commiserates with the shop owners affected by the incident and is committed to providing the necessary support to the affected traders.
She said although the exact cause of the fire is still unknown.
It has been confirmed that the fire was not caused by the clean solar system powering many shops within Iponri market.
She added that due to the fire, meters and cable networks across some of the affected shops already connected to the Energising Economies solar powered system were destroyed.
Representative of Iponri Market Energy Solutions Limited (IMESL) , Mr. Ademola Adeshina, said: “IMESL had to shut down the solar system in order to conduct a comprehensive asset and systems assessment. We are also working hard to restore electricity to the market in coordination with the Iponri Market Association.”
The Federal Government of Nigeria through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is implementing the Energizing Economies initiative (EEI) which provides clean, safe and reliable electricity to economic clusters across Nigeria working with private sector developers. Iponri Market is one of many phase 1 markets benefiting from this initiative.
News Source: https://www.independent.ng/rea-advises-nigerians-on-safe-electrical-installations/