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Rep. Umaru Empowers Over 100 Teachers, Rewards Students with N10m in Education Initiatives
By Sunday John
Rep. Jeremiah Umaru (APC, Akwanga/Nassarawa-Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituency) has trained more than 100 primary and secondary school teachers across the 35 electoral wards of his constituency to enhance their capacity for effective service delivery.
Speaking during the event on Wednesday in Akwanga Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Umaru said the training was part of his blueprint to invest in and promote the education sector.
He explained that the capacity-building program focused on improving school administration and integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into teaching and learning to make educators more efficient and globally competitive.
The lawmaker pledged to sustain the initiative and extend it to all teachers in his constituency in line with international best practices.
Participants received training through papers and presentations on topics such as “The Role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Teacher Education,” “Effective School Leadership and Management,” “Financial Management in School Administration,” and “Drug Abuse and the Poor Performance of Students.”
In a related development, Umaru also presented more than ₦10 million in cash prizes to winners of the second edition of his constituency-wide secondary school debate competition.
Expressing satisfaction with the students’ performance, he commended their confidence, composure, and logical presentation of arguments. He also appreciated teachers for their dedication to mentoring and nurturing young minds.
“The debate aims to build networks among students and expose them to global standards in public speaking and academic competition,” Umaru said. “The connections and confidence they gain here will help shape their future aspirations.”
He added that the platform encourages peer review between public and private school students, noting that such competitions help strengthen intellectual and communication skills.
Umaru reaffirmed his commitment to initiating more developmental programs across sectors to empower his constituents and justify their support at the polls.
At the grand finale, Shepherd International College, Akwanga, emerged as the overall winner, while Government Science Secondary School, Wamba, and Our Lady of Fatima College, Ogba, Nassarawa-Eggon, came second and third, respectively.
The winning school received a ₦1 million cash prize and five laptops, the first runner-up got ₦700,000 and three laptops, while the second runner-up received ₦500,000 and two laptops.
Individual awards included ₦500,000 and a laptop for the best speaker, ₦250,000 and a laptop for the second-best speaker, and ₦150,000 and a laptop for the third-best speaker. Each of the remaining 32 participating schools received ₦200,000 and educational materials.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the debate competition, which began in August, brought together students from both public and private schools across the constituency.
The Federal Ministry of Power, through the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, has performed the groundbreaking ceremony for a 17.7MW interconnected mini-grid in Ibadan, Oyo State, marking another significant step in efforts to deploy new generation capacity, strengthen electricity reliability and stimulate economic activity across Nigerian communities.
Developed by Paras Energy & Natural Resources Development Limited, the project will provide additional generation capacity to serve the Bola, Jiboye, Ogo-Oluwa, Molade-Adelubi and Sooko Elega communities within the Iwo Road axis of Ibadan.
The intervention forms part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to complement improvements in the national grid with decentralised generation solutions that bring additional power closer to areas of demand. Upon completion, the project is expected to significantly improve the reliability and duration of electricity supply in the beneficiary communities, with a target of at least 20 hours of electricity supply daily.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, the Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Tegbe, said the project demonstrates the Federal Government’s commitment to increasing electricity availability, strengthening supply reliability and ensuring that improvements in the power sector translate directly into economic opportunities for Nigerians.
According to the minister, the government’s focus extends beyond expanding electricity infrastructure to ensuring that additional generation capacity supports businesses, productive enterprises, industries and households.
“Our objective is clear: to increase the quantum of electricity available to Nigerians, improve the reliability of supply and ensure that electricity becomes an enabler of productivity, investment and economic growth. Projects such as this demonstrate how we are translating that commitment into infrastructure that directly serves communities and productive economic clusters.”
The Ibadan project builds on a growing portfolio of interconnected and isolated mini-grid interventions being implemented by the REA across the country. The agency has previously conducted groundbreaking ceremonies and advanced the deployment of interconnected mini-grid projects in several locations, including Pankshin in Plateau State; Kofare, Mbamba and Saminaka in Adamawa State; and other strategic locations across the country.
These interventions represent an important evolution in Nigeria’s distributed energy market, from smaller, access-focused systems to increasingly larger decentralised generation assets capable of supporting communities, commercial clusters and productive users while complementing existing distribution infrastructure.
The minister noted that this approach is being pursued alongside ongoing Federal Government interventions to strengthen generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure across the country. Planned and ongoing improvements along key electricity corridors are expected to progressively reinforce the reliability and resilience of Nigeria’s electricity supply infrastructure.
In his remarks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, Dr Abba Aliyu, said the 17.7MW Ibadan project reflects the scale and ambition of a new generation of distributed renewable energy projects being developed under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He explained that the REA’s priority is increasingly focused on deploying generation capacity where it can deliver the greatest economic impact while leveraging private-sector investment and sustainable operating models.
“This groundbreaking is about more than 17.7 megawatts of new generation capacity. It is about what that capacity will enable. Reliable electricity means longer operating hours for businesses, lower dependence on expensive self-generation, increased productivity, new investment and, ultimately, more jobs and economic opportunities.”
Aliyu added that the Ibadan project forms part of a much larger pipeline of investments being facilitated by the agency.
“Across Nigeria, we are demonstrating that distributed energy can move beyond addressing electricity access alone to becoming an important pillar of electricity reliability and economic development. From the interconnected mini-grids we have already broken ground on in different parts of the country to the new generation capacity now coming into Ibadan, our objective remains consistent: reliable electricity that powers productive economies.”
Upon completion, the Ibadan project will include the installation of 18 new transformers to strengthen electricity distribution within the beneficiary communities.
The REA is also advancing an additional 17.7MW of projects in Ibadan, targeting strategic institutions and economic centres, including the University College Hospital, the University of Ibadan and The Polytechnic, Ibadan. Together, these interventions demonstrate a deliberate strategy to build clusters of reliable generation capacity around communities, public institutions and centres of economic activity.
The Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, commended the Federal Government for the intervention, noting that improved electricity supply would positively affect businesses, households and livelihoods across the beneficiary communities.
He expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the infrastructure projects being implemented across Oyo State and called for their timely completion.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of Paras Energy & Natural Resources Development Limited, Yashwant Kumar, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to delivering the project efficiently and to the required standards. He noted that reliable electricity would have a transformative impact on residents and businesses within the project area.
The Ibadan groundbreaking reinforces the Federal Government’s and the REA’s commitment to a power-sector strategy in which new generation capacity, stronger networks, decentralised energy infrastructure and private-sector investment work together to improve electricity supply reliability.
For the REA, the ultimate measure of success is not simply the number of megawatts installed, but the economic activity those megawatts unlock: businesses powered, productive hours expanded, jobs supported, investments attracted and communities transformed through reliable electricity.
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FG, REA begin 17.7MW Ibadan Mini-Grid Project, target 20 hours of daily electricity supply
The Federal Ministry of Power, through the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, has performed the groundbreaking ceremony for a 17.7MW interconnected mini-grid in Ibadan, Oyo State, marking another significant step in efforts to deploy new generation capacity, strengthen electricity reliability and stimulate economic activity across Nigerian communities.
Developed by Paras Energy & Natural Resources Development Limited, the project will provide additional generation capacity to serve the Bola, Jiboye, Ogo-Oluwa, Molade-Adelubi and Sooko Elega communities within the Iwo Road axis of Ibadan.
The intervention forms part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to complement improvements in the national grid with decentralised generation solutions that bring additional power closer to areas of demand. Upon completion, the project is expected to significantly improve the reliability and duration of electricity supply in the beneficiary communities, with a target of at least 20 hours of electricity supply daily.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, the Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Tegbe, said the project demonstrates the Federal Government’s commitment to increasing electricity availability, strengthening supply reliability and ensuring that improvements in the power sector translate directly into economic opportunities for Nigerians.
According to the minister, the government’s focus extends beyond expanding electricity infrastructure to ensuring that additional generation capacity supports businesses, productive enterprises, industries and households.
“Our objective is clear: to increase the quantum of electricity available to Nigerians, improve the reliability of supply and ensure that electricity becomes an enabler of productivity, investment and economic growth. Projects such as this demonstrate how we are translating that commitment into infrastructure that directly serves communities and productive economic clusters.”
The Ibadan project builds on a growing portfolio of interconnected and isolated mini-grid interventions being implemented by the REA across the country. The agency has previously conducted groundbreaking ceremonies and advanced the deployment of interconnected mini-grid projects in several locations, including Pankshin in Plateau State; Kofare, Mbamba and Saminaka in Adamawa State; and other strategic locations across the country.
These interventions represent an important evolution in Nigeria’s distributed energy market, from smaller, access-focused systems to increasingly larger decentralised generation assets capable of supporting communities, commercial clusters and productive users while complementing existing distribution infrastructure.
The minister noted that this approach is being pursued alongside ongoing Federal Government interventions to strengthen generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure across the country. Planned and ongoing improvements along key electricity corridors are expected to progressively reinforce the reliability and resilience of Nigeria’s electricity supply infrastructure.
In his remarks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, Dr Abba Aliyu, said the 17.7MW Ibadan project reflects the scale and ambition of a new generation of distributed renewable energy projects being developed under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He explained that the REA’s priority is increasingly focused on deploying generation capacity where it can deliver the greatest economic impact while leveraging private-sector investment and sustainable operating models.
“This groundbreaking is about more than 17.7 megawatts of new generation capacity. It is about what that capacity will enable. Reliable electricity means longer operating hours for businesses, lower dependence on expensive self-generation, increased productivity, new investment and, ultimately, more jobs and economic opportunities.”
Aliyu added that the Ibadan project forms part of a much larger pipeline of investments being facilitated by the agency.
“Across Nigeria, we are demonstrating that distributed energy can move beyond addressing electricity access alone to becoming an important pillar of electricity reliability and economic development. From the interconnected mini-grids we have already broken ground on in different parts of the country to the new generation capacity now coming into Ibadan, our objective remains consistent: reliable electricity that powers productive economies.”
Upon completion, the Ibadan project will include the installation of 18 new transformers to strengthen electricity distribution within the beneficiary communities.
The REA is also advancing an additional 17.7MW of projects in Ibadan, targeting strategic institutions and economic centres, including the University College Hospital, the University of Ibadan and The Polytechnic, Ibadan. Together, these interventions demonstrate a deliberate strategy to build clusters of reliable generation capacity around communities, public institutions and centres of economic activity.
The Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, commended the Federal Government for the intervention, noting that improved electricity supply would positively affect businesses, households and livelihoods across the beneficiary communities.
He expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the infrastructure projects being implemented across Oyo State and called for their timely completion.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of Paras Energy & Natural Resources Development Limited, Yashwant Kumar, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to delivering the project efficiently and to the required standards. He noted that reliable electricity would have a transformative impact on residents and businesses within the project area.
The Ibadan groundbreaking reinforces the Federal Government’s and the REA’s commitment to a power-sector strategy in which new generation capacity, stronger networks, decentralised energy infrastructure and private-sector investment work together to improve electricity supply reliability.
For the REA, the ultimate measure of success is not simply the number of megawatts installed, but the economic activity those megawatts unlock: businesses powered, productive hours expanded, jobs supported, investments attracted and communities transformed through reliable electricity.
FG, REA begin 17.7MW Ibadan Mini-Grid Project, target 20 hours of daily electricity supply
A former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Aminu Dabo, has dumped the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Dabo, who was chairman of the APC caucus in Dambatta Local Government Area of Kano State, resigned from the party in a letter dated October 7, 2026.
The letter was addressed to the chairman of Dambatta Gabas Ward.
He said he took the decision after careful consideration of personal reasons and his future plans.
According to him, he has already submitted the resignation letter to the appropriate party officials in Dambatta for further action.
Dabo thanked the leadership of the APC for giving him the opportunity to serve and for the confidence reposed in him.
“I remain grateful for the cordial relationship I enjoyed and appreciative of the experience gained during my time of service,” he said.
Recall that Dabo was a governorship aspirant in Kano State and previously served as the Commissioner for Land in the state.
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