Ekiti State Commissioner for Infrastructure, Bamidele Faparusi, said on Thursday that the state government and the Benin Electricity Distribution Company had signed a pact to enhance power distribution to the state with a view to encouraging investment drive in the state.

Faparusi, who said the pact was the highlight of his visit on Wednesday to BEDC headquarters in Benin City, the Edo State capital, added that the development was in view of the Dr Kayode Fayemi administration’s commitment to “widening the scope of business activities in the state to boost the economy and reduce unemployment through power generation.”

The commissioner said that the administration would not relent in its efforts at ensuring a universal access to national grid across the state as a way of making electricity available to all and sundry.

He said, “The kernel of any government is to provide business opportunities for the citizens. To do this, power supply is key. The growth of small and medium scale enterprises is determined largely by the quality of electricity supply.

“We have identified areas of challenge and we are ready to provide enabling environment for businesses to thrive by waging war against cases of vandalism of electricity installations, encouraging our people to pay their bills and ensuring that access to uninterrupted power supply is enjoyed in the state,” Faparusi said.

The BEDC Managing Director, Mrs Funke Osibodu, was quoted to have said that BEDC had approved over 100 projects in its bid to support and grow economic activities in Ekiti State.