Barely two days after the electricity dispute between Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) and Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), the Federal Government has flagged off a ₦12bn solar project at the hospital.
Speaking at the ceremony in Kano on Wednesday, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Hon. Abubakar Bichi, said the project will generate seven megawatts of power and make the hospital independent of the national grid.
Bichi, who facilitated the project, explained that it is part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s plan to solarize all tertiary institutions and teaching hospitals across the country, beginning with AKTH.
Tinubu’s support under Renewed Hope Agenda
Hon. Bichi expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for approving and supporting the project.
He said, “The project demonstrates President Tinubu’s commitment to improving healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria under the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
The lawmaker added that the Federal Government has already set aside ₦300bn in the 2025 budget to extend solar projects to other universities and hospitals across the country.
“In this year, 2025, we have attracted over ₦26bn projects to this hospital, which has never been done in its history,” he said. “We are also working on another 5-6 megawatts at BUK, 4 megawatts at ADUSTECH Wudil, and another three megawatts at Murtala and Nasarawa hospitals.”
Agencies pledge delivery before December
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Uche Nnaji, said the initiative marks the beginning of turning the Renewed Hope Agenda into action.
On his part, the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, assured that the project would be completed before the end of December.
“This project is the first of its kind in the country, and we expect about 10,000. It will reach all the 36 states and the FCT. By the time we finish, all the facilities will be 100 percent solarized,” Dr Abdullahi said.
Hospital to save millions in energy costs
AKTH Chief Medical Director, Professor Abdulrahman Sheshe, said the hospital currently spends over ₦180 million monthly on electricity and diesel.
“We spend about ₦150 million every month on electricity bills and another ₦30 million to buy diesel that powers our generators,” he said. “So, this project could not have come at a better time, especially in the face of the recent power dispute we had.”
Before the solar project launch, Hon. Bichi also inspected the ongoing construction of a five-storey Accident and Emergency and Trauma Centre Unit at the hospital, another project facilitated by him.
