Kano: The Federal Government, through the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), on Friday inaugurated the groundbreaking ceremony for a 2-megawatt solar hybrid project worth N3.8 billion at the Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology (ADUSTECH), Wudil, in Kano State.
The project, under the Renewed Hope Solarisation flagship of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, also witnessed the commissioning of 200 solar-powered streetlights within the institution.
The Director General of the Commission, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, alongside the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Tochukwu-Udeh, SAN, carried out the groundbreaking ceremony at the university.
Dr Abdullahi said contractors handling the project were given a mandate to complete the work within three months.
He said the project was designed to provide sustainable energy generation for the institution and to address the N22.4 million in monthly electricity bills.
“Today’s groundbreaking at Wudil follows our ceremony at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in September 2025, where a 4MW system is being installed, and last week’s groundbreaking at Bayero University Kano.
Each project stands alone yet contributes to a nationwide initiative across hospitals and tertiary institutions in all 36 states and the FCT.
“The contract for this project, worth N3.8 billion, has been awarded to Safiatu Global Resources Limited with a firm three-month completion mandate, no variation in contract sum, and full accountability under the Commission’s project monitoring framework,” he said.
Abdullahi said every groundbreaking under the programme is preceded by rigorous technical work, energy audits, load 21,877 assessments, site surveys, and system design.
According to him, our team arrived on this campus with that precise mandate, and the findings were unambiguous. ADUSTECH is home to a combined population of 24,339 students, 2,462 staff, and hostel facilities providing 5,200 bed spaces.
“Against that scale of activity, the assessed actual energy demand on this campus ranges between 12.3 and 16.4 Megawatts.
Yet the total connected load on utility records stands at only 8.26 Megawatts – a figure that already exceeds what the grid reliably delivers.”
He noted that the institution spends an average of N22.4 million per month on electricity bills. Meanwhile, its on-site diesel backup has only 2.07 Megavolt-Amperes capacity.
“This is the energy reality that confronts a university of this mandate and ambition. It is unacceptable, and it is what we are here to begin addressing.”
He said that based on the campus’s full load profile and 59 hectares of available land within a 2.5-kilometre radius, the Energy Commission recommends a 7-Megawatt Solar Mini-grid as the complete energy solution.
Also speaking, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Tochukwu-Udeh, said the installation of the 2MW at the institution is not an act of philanthropy, but an act of strategic national policy and national action under the Renewed Hope Solarisation project.
He said the Federal government is making the investments because it believes in the institution’s and others’ groundbreaking innovations to address the most pressing challenges Nigerians face.
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Musa Tukur-Yakasai, said the landmark event represents not just an infrastructural milestone but a bold step towards sustainable energy, innovation and academic excellence.
Tukur-Yakasai described the intervention as vital to strengthening the university’s academic and research capacity.
