N10bn Solar for Presidential Villa and Nothing for the People, by Tahir Ahmad
As millions of Nigerians continue to endure the agony of darkness, paying more for the little they barely get, the Federal Government has already proposed a ₦10 billion solar energy upgrade for the Presidential Villa. The justification?
A supposedly unbearable ₦47 billion annual electricity bill at Aso Rock. The message? While the nation struggles, the seat of power must glow uninterrupted.
What is unfolding is a tale of two electrical realities: one clean, uninterrupted and exclusively reserved for the ruling elite; the other, flickering weakly — a daily torment for citizens who power the nation but live in blackout.
Just as the government unveils its shiny solar ambition for Aso Rock, it is neck-deep in negotiations over a ₦4 trillion debt owed to power generation companies.
Yet somehow, even under that burden, it manages to summon billions — not to rescue the national grid — but to shield itself from the very chaos it leaves behind for ordinary Nigerians.
The irony deepens. Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has declared that electricity subsidies must go. Band A consumers already know what that means, having seen their tariffs hiked sharply.
Bands B and C are next in line. Nigerians are being told the government can no longer afford to keep electricity cheap. But that argument begins to sound hollow when the same government finds billions to secure its own comfort.
The presidency gets solar panels; the people get price hikes. To be clear, renewable energy is a path Nigeria must walk — and fast. But in this case, the optics are damning.
The project reeks not of vision but of insulation — a political class cutting itself off from the failures it was elected to fix. It is solar for the rulers, and struggle for the ruled.
A genuine energy transition would look different. It would begin at the grassroots: with rural hospitals, public schools, community markets, and local businesses powered sustainably.
It would be about lifting people from energy poverty, not lifting a privileged few out of inconvenience. Instead, what we see is the widening of a cruel gap — one grid for the governors, another for the governed.
And so, while the country contemplates full subsidy removal, citizens must ask more than why. They must demand how. How will the government protect vulnerable Nigerians from further suffering?
How can it afford solar sanctuaries in Aso Rock while it pleads poverty before GenCos? How can a government that cannot light up Ilorin General Hospital claim it is going green?
Nigeria’s electricity crisis is not just a matter of supply and demand — it is a question of justice, equity, and the soul of governance. Aso Rock’s solar ambition, in its current form, is not a model of progress.
It is a monument to separation — between the Nigeria that suffers and the Nigeria that decides. Before illuminating the villa, let the government illuminate its conscience.
Let it pay what it owes, invest where it matters, and stop hiding its failures behind expensive panels. Anything less is not reform. It is a polished insult, powered by taxpayers, beamed brightly from the top — while the rest of the nation sits in the dark.
*Tahir Ahmad is a corps member serving at PRNigeria Centre, Abuja. He can be reached via: [email protected].*
