FG Earmarks N48.74bn For Varsity, Poly Mini-Grids, Highway Streetlights In 2025 Budget

The federal government has proposed N48.74bn in the 2025 budget to implement mini-grids in tertiary institutions and install solar streetlights on major highways across Nigeria.

THE WHISTLER recalls that President Bola Tinubu presented the proposed 2025 budget of N47.90tn before a Joint Sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives on December 18, 2024.

However, the breakdown of the power sector’s budget for 2025 reveals that N24bn is proposed for the provision of mini-grids in federal and state polytechnics across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

Also, the sum of N24.74bn has been allocated to provide solar-powered streetlights on major highways under the “Renewed Hope Light Up Our Highways Project.”

The proposed 2025 budget for the Federal Ministry of Power is N2.086tn, covering the ministry and its five major agencies: the National Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), National Power Training Institute (NAPTIN), Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Limited (NELMCO), and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

The ministry’s budget includes N6.27bn for personnel costs, N4.21bn for overheads and N2.076tn for capital projects.

Also, the sum of N504.33m has been earmarked for payments owed to local contractors.

These debts are part of a larger N1.3tn owed to power generation companies, as noted by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, in 2024.

Sixty per cent of the debt is owed to gas suppliers, while the remaining N2tn in legacy debt is owed to gas companies.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has disclosed that many Nigerians need orientation to realise that the power sector is a national asset that needs protection.

Adelabu disclosed this while defending the ministry’s budget before the National Assembly joint committee on power in Abuja.

He said the advocacy would be done through social, digital and print mediums in order to reach all Nigerians.

“We are a people of over 200 million strength. So, we need to go through all the loopholes, through social media, digital media, the print media, to orientate and do this advocacy. So, we have N8bn,” he said.

Adelabu explained that many Nigerians need orientation to realise that the power sector is a national asset that needs protection.

He also identified the need to avoid power theft as another reason for the advocacy.

“In terms of advocacy, we believe that our people need to be re-educated. They need to be re-orientated to know that the power assets are national assets, and we should all jointly own them.

“Our people need to know that they should avoid power theft. When they see something, they must say something,” he added.

“Our people need to know that they must pay their bills regularly. All these need to be passed across. We believe that the power sector needs to do a lot of advocacy, re-orientation and re-education of our people,” Adelabu said

FG Earmarks N48.74bn For Varsity, Poly Mini-Grids, Highway Streetlights In 2025 Budget is first published on The Whistler Newspaper