Prolonged Blackout: Kwankwaso Tasks Govts On Investment In Alternative Power Sources 

Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 general election, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso has called for immediate investment in alternative power sources as Northern Nigeria faces prolonged blackout.

This prolonged blackout now in its eighth day, was caused by the vandalisation of the Shiroro-Kaduna 330KV power line, a critical infrastructure that powers Kano, Kaduna, and parts of the North-East.

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Kwankwaso, in a statement posted on his official Facebook page, described the situation as “very disheartening”.

“Many parts of Northern Nigeria are in total darkness today due to vandalism on the important 330KV Shiroro-Kaduna power line that supplies the states of Kano and Kaduna and another line that supplies Bauchi, Gombe, and other parts of the northeast.

“This situation has been further compounded by the high cost of petrol and diesel in Nigeria, which has further plunged homes into darkness and forced factories to close down,” Kwankwaso said.

He voiced concern over the lengthy response time to resolve the prolonged blackout crisis, saying it “underscores the huge deficit of capacity our power sector has in order to address large-scale problems.”

“It is about time that we look into alternative power sources to address our energy needs and we need to exploit the abundant resources available to this country,” he said.

He urged both state governments and private investors to proactively invest in alternative energy sources to prevent recurrence of prolonged blackout in the future, referencing his own efforts in Kano where two turbines were installed at the Challawa Gorge and Tiga Dams to alleviate dependency on Nigeria’s overstretched national grid.

He stated, “I wish to encourage all state governments and private investors to invest in alternative electricity sources, just like we did in Kano to reduce the reliance on our inadequate and aged energy sources.”