Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is seeking partnership with the United Kingdom (UK) to boost power supply in rural areas of the state through investment in solar.
Ambode, who received Grant Shapps, British minister of state for foreign commonwealth affairs and DFID, and Ray Kyles, British deputy high commissioner to Nigeria, in Lagos, Wednesday, pointed to the existence of opportunities in power generation and supply, especially to the rural areas of Lagos.
The governor, who lauded the intervention of the UK DFID through solar related energy in the state, said more could be done, stating his government’s readiness to partner willing investors to take power supply to communities in need of it.
“I will like you to know that other area where we believe that we can partner together is in the area of energy. That’s something of utmost interest to us here. We would like to thank you for what we’ve done together in terms of solar related energy, and I am happy that we’re going into the phase two of that project. I will like to commend you for taking it up so quickly in the life of this administration.
“I believe strongly that it is one major alternative to the challenge facing most people in the remote areas and the poorer people in our own society. I also believe that we can accelerate that relationship and be able to use it also as a platform to touch lives of our people and create jobs,” Ambode told the British officials.
Shapps on his part observed that the economic possibilities that abound in the state coupled with its population make it one to reckon with.
“There are a lot of exciting opportunities and that is why I’m so pleased to be with you and to make use of these opportunities. We were just discussing about trade and the ability for our two countries to work closely together, and I think the opportunities for all our citizens to learn from experience in each of our countries is second to none,” he said.
