In a bid to ensure stable power supply in tertiary institutions, the Federal Government has allocated ₦100bn in the yet-to-be-approved 2025 budget to provide solar mini-grids in selected federal universities and their teaching hospitals.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Aliyu, disclosed this on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.
Aliyu said once the budget is passed and signed into law, his agency would begin work to provide reliable, cost-effective and climate-friendly power supply in the institutions.
“It’s a new concept designed to reduce the cost of governance. N100bn has been allocated for it. We are going to use that funding to solarise the entire public institutions”, he said.
“The REA boss said the current government analysed the amount spent by public institutions for the procurement of diesel and generating sets.
“To address that, that funding is being provided for us to solarise the institutions.”
According to him, the solar mini-grids would be deployed to the University of Lagos, the University of Ibadan and its teaching hospital; Obafemi Awolowo University; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; and Ahmadu Bello University.
“In the next six months, I will tell you that I have started the process of deploying mini-grids in an additional five universities. I will tell you that I have completed at least two of the eight mini-grids that I am deploying in the eight universities and one teaching hospital,” he promised.
“The UCH is part of the five that we are looking at starting. We are looking at starting at the University of Lagos. The minister of power was in Ibadan. We want to do the University of Ibadan plus the teaching hospital; Obafemi Awolowo University; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; and Ahmadu Bello University.”
It would be recalled that on Monday, medical students of the University of Ibadan staged a protest against a 100-day power outage at the University College Hospital (UCH).
Power Minister, Adebayo Adelabu, assured the students that electricity would be restored in their institution.
