By Perpetua Onuegbu
The Rotary Club of Abuja, in partnership with the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), has inaugurated electrification of the Rotary Centre and park in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
The project ends four years of power outage in the facility.
The project, tagged :”a legacy star initiative”, is inaugurated in Abuja on Monday with stakeholders describing it as a major boost to community development and service delivery.
AEDC Managing Director, Chijioke Okwuokenye, said the partnership aimed to improve livelihoods within the company’s coverage area.
Okwuokenye said the decision to power the centre aligned with Rotary International’s humanitarian focus and commitment to solving societal challenges.
He said, “As part of our mandate to improve lives in Abuja and other areas under our coverage, we engaged with Rotary members and agreed that charity must begin at home.
“Rotary is an organisation dedicated to humanity and solving societal problems. One of our focus areas is electricity provision.
“We cannot continue to provide electricity to communities while our own centre remains without power.”
He explained that the project would also open up opportunities for surrounding communities, noting that the installed transformer had the capacity to support future expansion.
“For this entire stretch, apart from the school here, there was no transformer supplying electricity. With this installation, we are confident that development will expand because electricity and road access improve society.
“The transformer is sized to carry the demand of the Rotary Centre. With the power line properly erected and cleared of encumbrances, we can begin expansion to serve the public,” he said.
President, Rotary Club of Abuja Capital Territory 2025/2026, Onome Ohwodo, said lack of electricity had limited operations and service initiatives for four years.
Ohwodo said the club prioritised the challenge and partnered AEDC to restore power and enhance community value.
“For four years, this centre lacked electricity, which hindered its full potential and limited our service initiatives. We recognised the need to solve the problem, not just for our benefit, but to add value to the community.
“Our event hall can now operate at full capacity, hosting programmes and generating resources for humanitarian projects,” he said.
He explained the project covered reticulation and electrification, including relocation of a 33KV line, installation of 13 poles and a 200KVA transformer.
He added that 25 personnel comprising AEDC staff and Rotary members worked 1,650 man-hours over 11 days within three months to complete the project.
He said the total cost of the project was N45.75m, noting that N44m was for installation and N1.75m for the commissioning ceremony.
On her part, District Governor, D9127, Dame Joy Okoro, said the project would solve a lot of problems while also commending the club for the initiative.
She expressed hope of partnering the FCT Water Board to provide water reticulation at the centre.
The Past Governor of Rotary District 9127, Dr Victor Onukwugha, described the project as a long-awaited milestone, noting that the centre had relied on generators since its completion six years ago.
A district member, Hon. Austin Chukwukere, described the project as a major relief saying that the electricity supply would enhance activities and attract development to the area.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Rotary Centre was donated to the club by Sir Emeka Ofor, a Rotarian in 2021. (NAN)
