Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has declared that reliable electricity access will cease to be a luxury reserved for a few, vowing to extend power infrastructure to every community as a fundamental right to drive economic growth and empower small businesses.
The governor made the assertion while flagging off Phase One of a major electrification initiative: the distribution of 600 transformers and accessories across all 23 Local Government Areas, alongside the deployment of 10,000 solar-powered street lights.
Speaking at the event, Governor Sani emphasized the economic imperative behind the drive.
“We are enabling welders, tailors, cold-room operators, ICT hubs, and manufacturers to operate with dignity and predictability,” he said.
He added: “We are sending a clear message that access to energy must no longer be the privilege of a few urban centres but the right of every community,” describing electricity as “not a luxury but the bloodstream of modern society.”
The governor highlighted electricity’s critical role in essential services and development: “Electricity powers hospitals and preserves vaccines, lights classrooms and expands the horizons of children, as well as drives our industries, irrigates our farms, and sustains the small businesses that form the backbone of our economy.”
He warned that without reliable power, “development is stunted, security is weakened, and opportunity is constrained.”
Governor Sani outlined achievements since assuming office nearly three years ago, including completing abandoned projects and launching new ones.
In the health sector, under the Indian-Exim Bank initiative, his administration completed solar mini-grid installations in 190 out of 225 Primary Health Care Centres, delivering 1.35 megawatts of clean energy. They also restored 32 abandoned systems (21 in PHCs and 11 in General Hospitals), leading to improved service delivery and reduced maternal and child mortality.
Other milestones include completing the long-abandoned 2x60MVA, 132/33kV Substation at the Green Economic Zone in Maraban Jos, which he described as “more than infrastructure… an industrial catalyst which unlocks investment potential, stimulates manufacturing, and positions Kaduna as a competitive economic hub.”
In Kubau Local Government Area, the Damau solar model (100 kilowatts) has ended a decade of darkness for 450 households, with additional distributed generation projects totaling 1,694 kilowatts underway in Chara, Gidan Kundi, Gora, and Hawan Mai Mashi.
The governor detailed rehabilitation and transformer installations across the state’s three senatorial zones, including networks from Maraban Kubau to Kubau, Makarfi to Tashan Icce and Tashan Yari, Lere to Saminaka and Unguwan Bawa in Zone One; multiple installations in Zaria, Sabon-Gari, and Kudan; and critical line rehabilitations in Zone Three, such as Kagarko Junction to Manchok, Jagindi Junction to Gwado-Gwado, and the 69-kilometre Gada-Biyu to Kogun River corridor.
He also announced partnerships, including a Memorandum of Understanding signed on October 22, 2025, with the Rural Electrification Agency, advancing a 1.5-megawatt project for Kaduna Polytechnic, an 8-megawatt allocation for Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and urban generation initiatives like 2 megawatts in TRAPCO community, 2 megawatts in Shika, and 4 megawatts in Makarfi to support local manufacturing.
The flagging-off ceremony shows the administration’s commitment to transforming Kaduna into a state where electricity fuels inclusive growth, industrial revival, and improved quality of life for all residents.
