The Initiative to Save Democracy (ISD) has chided TheCable reporter, Taiwo Adebulu, for a below-par, poorly researched report on the solar power initiative of the Nigerian government.

The group's president, Sunday James Akinloye, said Nigerian journalists should put in more rigourous effort when writing reports especially when it is supposed to be exclusive.

ISD said that the report was a hatchet job by some persons who are not happy that Nigeria is providing clean energy for millions of citizens especially those off the grid.

"This is no doubt a sponsored job that was poorly put together. If TheCable reporter had dug a little dipper or had he read the Solar Power Naija initiative, the reporter and his sponsors would have known that this misinformation was watery.

The group explained that the Solar Power Naija programme is not managed and executed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) as claimed by the report.

"For clarity of doubt, the Solar Power Naija is not managed by NDPHC but rather it is managed and executed by the Rural Electrification Agency, a basic fact that the reporter could not identify.

"Not only is the REA in charge of the Solar Power Naija but that REA's Solar Power Naija team has had engagements with the six states who have identified private sector developers. The team has also selected Akwa Ibom, Ekiti and Kano as pilot states for the state-guaranteed transaction model for the solar power programme.

The group noted that in a widely reported status update on Solar Power Naija, the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Alhaji Ahmad Salihijo said that the agency is currently tracking transactions worth N55 billion potentially contributing the first two million connections in Nigeria and providing thousands of jobs.

"The programme is currently tracking four transactions in the commercial bank upstream channel contributing 3,500 jobs and 100,000 connections,' Salihijo said on 9 May 2021.

The MD added that 9 participants have submitted applications for over N4 billion of the N20 billion allocated with three companies close to receiving disbursements.

According to the MD, “Bleu Camel Energy with a loan amount of N3 billion is targeting to create 600 jobs; Sunking, another investor with a loan amount of N3 billion will create 1,500 jobs; Auxno Solar with N300 million loan amount targets 100 jobs while Emerald Industrial Co. is seeking N3 billion funding to manufacture 100,000 Solar Home Systems and smart meters.

ISD added that not only is Hakeem Dosumu not an in-law of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as claimed in the report by TheCable in the report titled: “Disquiet as NDPHC guarantees N7bn bank loan for private firm”, the company in question was not even listed by the REA MD as one of the private players in the Solar Power Naija programme.

“Nigerians must be weary of reports like this because they are designed to blackmail and tarnish the person of the Vice President and the agencies mentioned.

“TheCable should immediately sanction the reporter and other reports like him who need to be retrained on getting their facts right and cautioned on spreading falsehood,” ISD said.

Paid post. E go soon reach fp

Everyday different nameless/faceless groups wil be popping up, talking rvbbish. Is this Nigeria's major problem right now?

Another faceless group.

Cable really did a made job with that misleading report

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