Thursday May 8, 2025 |
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has announced that 24 federal tertiary institutions across Nigeria are now powered by solar energy under the “Energising Education Project” initiated by the administration of President Bola Tinubu, ThePUNCH reports.
Alausa made the disclosure on Wednesday, May 7, during a Collaboration Agreement Signing Ceremony in Abuja with vice chancellors of the latest beneficiary institutions.
He said that eight additional universities had signed up to join the fourth phase of the project.
Earlier in the day, the minister visited the solar facility at the University of Abuja, now renamed Yakubu Gowon University, describing the project as “a new day for Nigeria.”
He commended the initiative as transformative, aimed at providing uninterrupted electricity to federal tertiary institutions and their teaching hospitals.
At the University of Abuja, the minister said, a solar farm made up of 6,000 photovoltaic panels generates about 3.3 megawatts of electricity daily, providing 24-hour power supply to the campus.
“This project brings continuous, 24-hour electricity to our institutions,” Alausa said. “It enables round-the-clock academic activity, powers laboratories and libraries, and improves living and learning conditions for both students and faculty.”
He emphasised the economic potential of the initiative, noting that constant electricity fosters a thriving micro-economy on campus.
“A campus is a community in itself. With constant power, economic activity flourishes,” he said.
The minister also disclosed that the project is supported by the Renewable Infrastructure Fund established by the Tinubu administration to drive infrastructure growth across sectors.
He challenged university administrators to develop innovative strategies to ensure the sustainability of the project, adding that the goal is to equip all tertiary institutions with renewable energy sources by 2027.
Speaking at the event, Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, revealed that Phases 1 to 3 of the EEP had already impacted over 600,000 students and 50,000 academic staff across the country.
Aliyu said the project had so far generated more than 100 megawatts of clean energy for university campuses and teaching hospitals. He added that under Phase 2 of the project, solar infrastructure was also extended to two teaching hospitals, and that Phase 3—covering eight universities and one teaching hospital—was nearing completion and would be commissioned within two months.
The eight new beneficiaries of Phase 4 include Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State; Federal University Dutse; University of Benin; University of Ibadan; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; and University of Lagos.
The “Energising Education Project” is part of a broader national effort to leverage renewable energy for educational advancement and sustainable development.
