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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Economy & Trade

Failing grid: Presidency opts for N10bn solar at Villa

From The Punch · (13h ago) English Critical tone

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The Nigerian presidency is reportedly planning to disconnect the Presidential Villa from the national electricity grid, opting for a N10 billion solar power installation.
  • This move comes despite President Bola Tinubu's 2023 campaign promise of a power revolution and a stable 24/7 electricity supply nationwide.
  • Critics, including former presidential candidate Peter Obi, argue this decision symbolizes the elite insulating themselves from the failures of the national grid, which continues to suffer from low generation and instability.

The Punch Newspaper views the presidency's reported plan to install a N10 billion solar power system at Aso Rock Villa, effectively disconnecting it from the national grid, as a stark betrayal of President Bola Tinubu's electoral promises.

If I don’t keep the promise and I come back for a second term, don’t vote for me.

— President Bola TinubuDuring his 2023 presidential campaign, highlighting his commitment to improving Nigeria's power supply.

During his 2023 campaign, Tinubu vowed a "power revolution," promising 15 gigawatts of electricity and 24/7 supply within four years, even staking his second term on it. Yet, with the national grid still struggling to generate above 4,000 MW, this move to self-sufficiency for the seat of power sends a disheartening message to millions of Nigerians still enduring erratic power supply.

32 months after being in charge, and instead of living by his powerful words, Tinubu planned to dump the national grid “that has been performing abysmally under his watch”.

— Peter ObiFormer presidential candidate of the Labour Party, reacting to the news of the Presidential Villa's planned disconnection from the national grid.

The symbolism is not lost on the public: while ordinary citizens remain tethered to a failing system, the political elite appear to be creating their own reliable energy source. This development, coupled with the Nigeria Revenue Service also securing a captive power generation nod, deepens the perception that the government is abandoning the very grid it pledged to fix.

Yet, while Nigerians are still grappling with that unfulfilled, categorical electoral promise – and without clear communication on the obstacles, if any, we read of a provision in the 2025 budget about the N10bn for solar power at Aso Rock and, in the 2026 budget, another humongous amount for upgrade and maintenance, and now we are being sarcastically told that the Pre

— Peter ObiFurther elaboration on his criticism of the government's energy policy and broken promises.

As former presidential candidate Peter Obi rightly pointed out, this plan to "dump the national grid" after 32 months in office, without clear explanations for the persistent failures, is a bitter pill to swallow for citizens who placed their faith in Tinubu's bold pronouncements. The Punch, reflecting the public's outrage, sees this as a critical failure to honor a core campaign pledge and a widening gap between the rulers and the ruled.

A lot of the things I have seen can’t be said in public; it’s dirty, it is very dirty.

— Senator Abdulfatai BuhariDescribing the Nigerian aviation industry during the 59th anniversary of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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