“45% Nigerians have no access to any form of electricity” — Shettima
Federal government on Tuesday unveiled plans for the establishment of 3 megawatts of Solar Energy Sources across 25 states of the Federation.
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu who disclosed this in Abuja, explained that the proposed facilities would be established in the North and South West geopolitical zones of the country.
He said: “We have investment proposals for establishing 3 gigawatts, which is 3000megawatts of solar energy source across the 25 States in the North and the South West. This is a novel and we believe it will go a long way to solve our power problem.”
While expressing optimism that the novel approach will go a long way to solve the endemic power problems bedevilling the country, the Minister encouraged Subnational Governments on the dire need to invest in power generation within their jurisdictions.
Adelabu also disclosed the Federal Government’s resolve to deploy hydro energy to the coastal cities.
While expressing concern that most of the infrastructure dates back to the 1960s, he affirmed that the country has witnessed incessant collapse of transmission which is caused by lack of adequate infrastructure.
He maintained that there is no single backup for the national grid, hence underscoring the urgent need for alternative sources in case of a collapse of the grid.
In his remarks, Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima urged State Governments on the need to play a leading role in attracting investments into the electricity sector with a view to recapitalise distribution companies, and to ensure a steady flow of investments towards increasing electricity access.
The Vice President, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Power, Engineer Sadiq Wanka, said the dialogue was timely as there is widespread recognition that the country is underperforming across all four pillars of providing electricity supply that is reliable, affordable, environmentally sustainable and available to all Nigerians.
“Indeed, by some estimates, less than 20% of Nigerians have access to reliable energy for more than 12 hours per day. 45% of Nigerians have no access to any form of electricity. As a result, households and industries have been dependent on self-generation that is both more expensive and more polluting.
