The Nigerian government has successfully powered 24 federal tertiary institutions with solar energy, marking a major milestone in the Energising Education Project (EEP) under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the achievement on Wednesday during the Collaboration Agreement Signing Ceremony in Abuja, where eight more universities were confirmed for the fourth phase of the program.
Speaking at the event alongside Vice Chancellors from the new beneficiary institutions, Dr. Alausa underscored the transformative scope of the initiative. “This project brings continuous, 24-hour electricity to our institutions.
It allows for increased academic activity, powers laboratories and libraries throughout the day and night, and improves living and learning conditions for both students and faculty,’’ he said.
Earlier, Dr. Alausa had visited the University of Abuja, recently renamed Yakubu Gowon University, where he inspected a solar energy facility comprising 6,000 photovoltaic panels capable of generating about 3.3 megawatts daily, enough to keep the campus fully powered.
He highlighted the broader economic significance of the effort, noting, “Any campus is a community by itself. With constant power supply, you unleash high economic activity.” He further explained that the project is being funded through the Renewable Infrastructure Fund, established by President Tinubu to advance infrastructure development across sectors.
Calling on the Vice Chancellors to ensure the long-term success of the installations, Dr. Alausa emphasized the administration’s target of equipping every federal tertiary institution in Nigeria with renewable energy solutions by 2027.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Aliyu, shared more insights into the scale of the achievement, stating that phases 1, 2, and 3 of the project have already reached over 600,000 students and 50,000 staff nationwide.
“What you are seeing here is one of our interventions in the education sector, and the aim is to ensure that universities have a sustainable and affordable electricity supply,” Aliyu said. According to him, more than 100 megawatts of solar electricity have been generated across the country’s institutions through the EEP.
Aliyu added that under Phase 2, clean energy was delivered to two teaching hospitals and two universities through the Universal Public Health Project component, while Phase 3, which includes eight additional universities and one teaching hospital, is now nearing commissioning.
The eight new beneficiaries are 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.
These institutions are set to benefit from the same clean energy installations that have already transformed the operational landscape of earlier participants.
The Energising Education Project, overseen by the REA, aims to solve the persistent energy challenges that have long hindered federal universities and teaching hospitals by delivering clean, reliable electricity through solar mini-grid systems to power academic and administrative facilities across the nation.
