The Federal Government has allocated N300 billion to provide a stable electricity supply in teaching hospitals and universities across the country.
House member representing Bichi Federal Constituency and the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Abubakar Bichi disclosed this on Wednesday at the unveiling of a solar hybrid intervention project in the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano.
Bichi was quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria as stating that the initiative was part of President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to end recurring power outages in critical sectors, especially in healthcare and tertiary education.
According to him, the allocation will fund the installation of renewable energy systems, with priority given to institutions that provide essential services to Nigerians.
‘This intervention is designed to guarantee uninterrupted power for hospitals and universities so that doctors can save lives and students can study without disruption,” Bichi said.
He explained that the projects would also reduce the burden of high electricity bills on government institutions, improve efficiency, and promote the use of clean energy.
Bichi commended the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, for providing leadership in translating the government’s vision into concrete action.
He added that the Energy Commission of Nigeria would work with other relevant agencies to ensure the timely delivery of the projects.
He commended President Tinubu for approving special budgetary allocations to address power challenges in tertiary hospitals and universities across the country.
On the AKTH solar power project, Bichi said the intervention followed appeals made to him by Chief Medical Directors of teaching hospitals during the preparation of the 2025 appropriation bill.
He recalled that in November 2024, the CMD of University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, among others, raised concerns over the high cost of powering critical health facilities, sometimes spending up to N200 million monthly on electricity and diesel.
According to him, the issue was discussed with the leadership of the National Assembly and later taken to President Tinubu, who directed the inclusion of funds for solar hybrid projects in the 2025 budget.
Bichi disclosed that about N300 billion was provided in the budget to support power supply in all federal universities and tertiary hospitals.
He mentioned some of the benefiting hospitals as Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Bayero University Kano, Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital and Nasarawa Hospital.
Earlier, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Abdulrahman Sheshe, said that the project would go a long way in improving service delivery in the hospital.
