Makoko, a shanty settlement across the 3rd Mainland Bridge located on the coast of mainland Lagos which is poorly served by grid electricity is seeing increased power through solar.

A roll-out of Solar Home Systems in the area in the past few months has electrified schools, clinics and homes in the communities in Makoko where a third of the community is built on stilts along the lagoon and the rest is on the land.

The Makoko SHS deployment is a project captured under the Federal Government’s National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy.

Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, MD of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the implementing agency said: “Given the Agency’s role is providing access to electricity for unserved and underserved areas, the role being played here is more of a social service to mitigate the environmental and economic challenges of the community,” during a tour over the past weekend.

“This visit is part of a larger visit to the South West region with sites at Osogbo and Ijebu-Ode also visited,” he said. “The management will return and assess the impact of the projects so far.”

According to the MD, stakeholder engagement (State governments, community groups and end-users) will continue while all the feedback gathered is considered.