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Niger Poised As Decentralized Electricity Model Under Tinubu’s Act – Santuraki

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Niger Poised As Decentralized Electricity Model Under Tinubu's Act – Santuraki

The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Dr. Mohammed Kudu Santuraki, has described the establishment of a sub-national electricity market under the Nigerian Electricity Act 2023 as a major milestone that could position Niger State as a national model for decentralised electricity regulation.

Santuraki made this assertion at the inaugural stakeholders’ engagement forum organised by the Niger State Electricity Regulatory Commission (NSERC) in Minna, the state capital.

Signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in June 2023, the Electricity Act 2023 decentralises and de-monopolises the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity, granting states, companies, and individuals the legal authority to produce and manage power independently.

Highlighting Niger State’s potential, Santuraki noted that the state hosts nearly 100% of Nigeria’s hydropower assets, with an installed capacity of approximately 3,000 MW—more than half of the country’s total electricity generation.

He emphasised that this strategic advantage places Niger State at the forefront of implementing the new law and could serve as a blueprint for other sub-national electricity markets across the country.

He said, “Furthermore, with a landmass exceeding 76,000 square kilometers, Niger State lies within Nigeria’s high solar irradiance belt, receiving an estimated six Gigawatt-hour (GWh) of solar energy per square kilometre daily.

“This geographic and climatic advantage offers the state immense potential for hosting utility-scale solar farms.

“In addition, the state is dotted with numerous underutilised potential small dams, presenting viable options for decentralised and captive power generation across rural and industrial clusters.”

Santuraki, who is also Chairman of the Niger State Electricity Market Stakeholders’ Engagement, noted that the stakeholders’ forum was a clear demonstration of the NSERC’s commitment to transparency, stakeholder engagement, and purposeful reform.

He emphasised that the engagement marks a beginning, not an end, signalling the start of a sustained and open dialogue between regulators and the regulated, as well as between government and citizens.

Santuraki said, “We are here not merely to consult, but to collaborate. The establishment of a sub-national electricity market under the framework of the Nigerian Electricity Act 2023 is a pivotal milestone.

“It should deepen energy access, drive local and economic development. These should position Niger State, often rightly referred to as the Power State, given its hosting of all the nation’s hydropower assets, as a model for decentralized electricity regulation in Nigeria.”

He commended the state Governor, Umar Mohammed Bago, for his “visionary commitment” to the electricity sector reform, and the Executive Chairman of NSERC, Engr. Mohammed Sharu, for the “steady and commendable” progress made since the enactment of the Niger State Electricity Law in December 2024.

Santuraki calls for partnership, collaboration, and cooperation among power sector stakeholders operating in the state, “as they work together to shape the future of energy in Niger State and Nigeria.”

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BREAKING: Winner Emerges In Kano Bye-Election As APC, NNPP Lock Horns

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged winner of the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election in Kano state

The returning officer, Professor Muhammad Waziri of Bayero University, declared Garba Ya’u Gwarmai of the APC winner with 31,472 votes

Waziri defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Ali Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes

2027: Pat Utomi Opens Up On working On A New Mega Party
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured victory in the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election held in Kano state.

Announcing the results on Sunday morning, August 17, the returning officer (RO), Professor Muhammad Waziri from Bayero University, declared APC candidate Garba Gwarmai the winner with a total of 31,472 votes.

He defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes, according to The Punch.

The supplementary poll was conducted after the initial election in the constituency was declared inconclusive. With a margin of 3,541 votes, Gwarmai’s victory marks a key win for the APC as the party continues to reinforce its influence across the state.

Meanwhile, the NNPP won the Bagwai/Shanono state assembly by-election in Kano state.

Daily Trust and Vanguard noted this update.

Announcing the result at 12:36 a.m. on Sunday, August 17, the RO for the election, Prof. Hassan Adamu Shitu, declared the NNPP candidate, Ali Hassan Kiyawa, winner with 16,198 votes, defeating the APC candidate, Ahmad Muhammad Kadamu, who polled 5,347 votes.

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Tinubu’s Government Lacks Effective Communication Strategy  - Babangida

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Nigeria, Benin Sign Integration Pact

Former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, has said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is performing well but lacks an effective communication strategy to relay its achievements to Nigerians.

Aliyu made the statement on the Thursday edition of Arise Television’s ‘The Morning Show’, while reacting to the outcome of a recent public accountability session held in Kaduna.

Aliyu, reflecting on the discussions at the Kaduna Forum, said the government is facing public dissatisfaction not because it hasn’t delivered, but because it is failing to tell its own story effectively.

The ex-governor said it is proper for political leaders in the North to make demands from Tinubu’s administration since the bulk of the votes that took power came from the region.

“Let the people understand what is happening on the ground. If by what we say that 63/64 percent of the vote came from the north, it is only logical that the north will be expecting so much from the government.

“But from what we have seen so far is that the government is doing well but they do not know how to communicate very well,” he said.

 

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New Twist As El-Rufai Snubs ADC, Announces Another Party To Vote In Kaduna Bye-Election [ Video Trends]

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Former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, appeared to have taken a reverse from the coalition’s adopted political platform, ADC

This is as the former governor took to social media and asked the people of Zaria, Chikun to vote for another party in the Saturday, August 16 (today), bye-elections in the constituencies in Kaduna

Recall that the former governor recently visited Sokoto to canvass support for the ADC, while criticising President Bola Tinubu and the APC government.

Click to watch El-Rufai’s video here

Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna, has fueled speculations that he dumped the recently adopted coalition political platform, African Democratic Congress (ADC), as he called on the people of Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency and Zaria Kewaye and Basawa state constituency to vote for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

However, in a dramatic turn, the former governor urged the people of Zaria and Chikun to vote for the SDP in the Saturday, August 16, by-election, a poll which was meant to test the opposition’s strength ahead of the 2027 general election.

Recall that El-Rufai defected to the SDP after dumping the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but soon after joining the party, the SDP fell into a leadership crisis, and the former governor has been silent on his membership and allegations against him.

El-Rufai recently visited Sokoto on a mission to gather support for the ADC. He described his action as a patriotic one to rescue Nigeria from the grip of ‘nepotism’ and ‘incompetence’.

During his visit to Sokoto, the former governor attended two important events meant to sensitise the people and political stakeholders working to achieve the agenda of sacking President Tinubu and the APC in the next general election.

During his address at the event, the former governor lambasted the ruling party and called them ‘a failed, clannish, and visionless administration that has plunged Nigeria into deeper socio-economic misery’.

He declared that it was time for Nigerians to rise against the APC and accused the party of ‘broken promises and elite conspiracy’. He warned that any move to vote for the APC beyond 2027 would be a greater doom for the country.

However, in a sharp turn, the former governor, in a video posted on his social media page ahead of the by-election, urged the people in the constituencies where the poll will be held in Kaduna on Saturday, August 16, to vote for the SDP rather than the ADC he went to Sokoto to canvass for.

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