Peter Obi faults N10bn presidential villa photo voltaic plan, cites grid neglect
Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has criticised plans to energy the Aso Rock Presidential Villa with photo voltaic vitality, warning that the transfer suggests neglect of Nigeria’s nationwide electrical energy grid.
The remarks had been contained in a press release launched on his X account in response to stories that the Presidential Villa could disconnect from the nationwide grid to rely totally on solar energy.
The criticism comes amid persistent energy provide challenges nationwide and renewed debate over authorities’s dedication to fixing the electrical energy system.
Within the assertion, Obi recalled a marketing campaign promise attributed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who pledged that Nigerians shouldn’t re-elect him if he failed to offer regular electrical energy inside 4 years.
Obi argued that the nationwide grid has continued to carry out poorly for greater than two years into the administration.
Reviews about plans to transition the Presidential Villa to photo voltaic vitality gained consideration following provisions within the 2025 funds allocating about N10 billion for solar energy infrastructure, alongside additional allocations within the 2026 funds for upgrades and upkeep.
The event comes greater than two years into the present administration, throughout which Nigeria has continued to face grid instability, frequent system collapses and restricted technology capability.
Electrical energy provide stays a significant constraint for households and companies, lots of which depend on expensive diesel and petrol mills to complement unreliable grid energy.
Obi stated that whereas renewable vitality adoption is commendable and needed for the long run, the event displays a deeper governance concern.
Nigeria’s energy sector has confronted repeated instability lately, with a number of grid collapses highlighting the fragility of the nationwide electrical energy system. In 2024 alone, the grid collapsed 9 instances, making it one of the unstable years for energy provide.