No 1, Lajorin Street
Ilorin 

When in August 2003, Government Bukola Saraki created the Ministry of Rural Development from the old Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development, the Socio-Economic development of the Rural Populace which constituted about 75% of the State’s population, was the major focus.

The Ministry now Ministry of Energy, has made tremendous impact on the standard of living of rural dwellers. Given the phenomenal transformation which the state had gone through during the first 4 years term of Bukola Saraki administration, the need to address energy and infrastructural facility problems became imperative. The Ministry of Energy was therefore created to tackle the challenges of advancing the development of the people with a view to enhancing and improving their quality of life.

The Ministry has among other duties, to formulate and co-ordinate regular eradiation of Government Policies on Rural Development, to coordinate all agencies and NGO’s functionally related to energy and the Co-ordination of Government Policies on Energy with focus on Rural Electrification. Since inception, the Ministry of Energy has embarked on massive Rural Electrification drive, given the acute problem of Electricity Supply being experienced across the State, and the Government desire to arrest this problem, by the end of year 2011 and also not relenting in its effort at completing the 19 abandoned projects inherited from the previous administrations.

The Bukola Saraki administration, through the Ministry of Energy has also established 94 relief sub-stations to improve electricity supply at 11 of the 16 Local Government Areas of the State, in which a total number of 134 communities have been electrified across the State. Indeed 90% of this landmark achievements were recorded in the year 2008 and early 2009.

Still in its drive to providing adequate infrastructure, the Ministry of Energy has provided 181 electricity transformers to various communities in the State, which 15MVD transformers had been installed at Shonga to serve the 17 farms and 25 other villages in Edu Local Government Area of the State.

One Crane-mounted Truck and a Toyota Hilux had been procured for the effective performance of the Rural Electricity Board (REB) while construction works for injection sub-station have been carried out in various locations in the State.

With the Ministry of Energy in place, the provision of Solar Powered Street Lights have been provided along five major streets of Geri Alimi, Yidi, General Hospital, Isale-Oja and Ola-Olu Post Office roads, while Ornamental Garden lights were provided at the major round about across Ilorin City Centre.

At present there are proposals for the Electrification of four Hundred and Twenty Five (425) Communities across the 16 Local Government Areas of the State, and to be executed in phases, with the first phase of 105 communities rearing completion. Transformer relief sub-station is to be provided for 70 locations within Ilorin metropolis. To this end, contract for the procurement of 167 transformers, had been awarded by the State Government. Since the goal and desire of the present administration in the State is to ensure real and rapid development of the rural areas is achieved through proper execution of the various planned socio-economic programmes and projects of the Ministry. The Kwara State Government has procured three new vehicles for consultants for the monitoring of all projects executed by the Ministry. One Vehicle each for the three Senatorial Districts.