FG Unveils 3MW Mini-grid Yakubu Gowon Varsity, Plans National Power Complaints Centre

The federal government has commissioned a three-megawatt hybrid mini-grid and a renewable energy training facility at Yakubu Gowon University, formerly the University of Abuja, as part of ongoing efforts to expand electricity access to tertiary institutions.

The facility, inaugurated on Wednesday, was delivered under the second phase of the Energizing Education Programme, a scheme covering seven universities and two teaching hospitals across the country, including sites in Maiduguri and Calabar. A third phase of the programme is currently being implemented.

The mini-grid combines a 3.3 megawatt-peak solar array with battery storage capacity of two megawatt-hours, designed to keep essential services running after daylight hours. A separate grid connection will handle non-critical power needs outside of solar generation periods. The project also includes 388 streetlights across the campus.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Power, Chief Joseph Tegbe, said the project would supply electricity to over 58,000 students and reduce the university’s dependence on diesel generators. He linked the investment to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, describing it as part of a broader push to channel electricity investment into activities that directly improve citizens’ lives.

Tegbe said the government’s ability to complete successive phases of the programme, rather than abandoning earlier projects, reflected the discipline required for long-term development. He called on students to help protect the new infrastructure by reporting any vandalism, noting that similar cases involving transformers and transmission towers remained a concern nationwide.

The minister disclosed that his office was setting up a national call centre where members of the public can report electricity complaints and cases of vandalism to power infrastructure. He said the centre would also create jobs for young people and would operate alongside a joint task force made up of the police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to tackle attacks on power assets.

The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, said the value of the education programme went beyond installed capacity, pointing instead to its impact on functional laboratories, reduced institutional running costs, and safer learning conditions for students.

He said the agency’s Renewable Asset Management Company, known as RAMCO, had been set up to manage and maintain renewable energy assets after installation, describing infrastructure maintenance as a distinct responsibility from construction. Aliyu added that RAMCO would depend on cooperation from host institutions and other stakeholders to remain effective.

Aliyu also disclosed that the education programme has so far delivered more than 100 megawatts of electricity to 22 federal institutions and teaching hospitals nationwide.

The Vice-Chancellor of Yakubu Gowon University, Prof. Akinwunmi Babatunde Fawehinmi, said reliable power was essential to teaching, research and campus life, and pledged that the university would maintain the new facility properly.

Also present at the ceremony, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, commended the Rural Electrification Agency for the project and described it as important to improving educational outcomes across the country. He also welcomed the creation of RAMCO, saying it would help ensure such projects continue benefiting Nigerians after commissioning.