FG Unveils ₦100 Billion Plan To Solarize Nigerian Campuses And Health Center

FG Unveils ₦100 Billion Plan To Solarize Nigerian Campuses And Health Center

The Federal Government, under President Bola Tinubu, has earmarked ₦100 billion in the 2025 budget to install solar mini-grids in federal universities and teaching hospitals across Nigeria. This allocation is pending approval from the National Assembly.…….READ MORE 

Abba Aliyu, Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), revealed this during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief. He stated that this initiative falls under the National Public Sector Solarisation Initiative led by the Federal Ministry of Power.

Once the budget is approved and signed into law, the REA will commence efforts to provide cost-effective, reliable, and eco-friendly power to these institutions. Aliyu emphasized that the initiative aims to cut governance costs by transitioning public institutions to solar energy, reducing their dependence on diesel generators.

The move follows recent student protests at the University of Ibadan over a 100-day power outage at University College Hospital (UCH). The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has assured students that power will soon be restored.

Aliyu confirmed that solar mini-grids will be installed at UCH and four other institutions nationwide. He stated, “In the next six months, we will begin deploying mini-grids in five more universities and aim to complete at least two of the eight planned mini-grids in universities and one teaching hospital.”

The targeted institutions include the University of Lagos, University of Ibadan and its teaching hospital, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Nigeria Nsukka, and Ahmadu Bello University.

Aliyu added that the REA will commission at least 60 mini-grids and initiate 40 interconnect grid projects within the next six months. The agency has already completed hybrid mini-grid installations in seven universities and two teaching hospitals, providing 24-hour reliable electricity. Notable among them is the 12-megawatt facility at the University of Maiduguri, which also powers the local water treatment plant.

The new phase of installations is set to begin in April 2025.