By Uthman Abubakar
Deeply concerned by frequent power outages across the country, stakeholders in the North-East have urged governors in the 6-state region to urgently invest in the development of all available sources of renewable energy to satisfy the region’s power needs.
The region’s Chairman Electricity Act Committee, Dr Immamudeen Talba, spoke on behalf of the stakeholders during a one-day Northeast stakeholders advocacy engagement on the Electricity Act for the Northeast organized by Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Association Alliance (REEEAA) held in Maiduguri, Wednesday, February 13.
Talba underlined the significance of the engagement, highlighting the potential of solar, wind, and hydroelectric powers are massively available in the region.
He charged state governors, energy experts, private investors, and key stakeholders from six northern states—Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, and Taraba to focus on renewable energy as a sustainable solution to the region’s electricity crisis, emphasizing policy reforms, capacity building, research, and investment.
“To address these challenges, stakeholders urge the state governments to implement policies that attract renewable energy investments, offer incentives to private investors, and streamline regulatory frameworks,” he said.
He continued: ” Stakeholders also call for increased community involvement, ensuring that local populations are trained to maintain and operate renewable energy systems.”
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He also stressed the need for decentralized energy generation, mini-grid and off-grid solar projects, and local capacity building to sustain renewable energy infrastructure.
“All the states are blessed with resources, renewable energy resources,” Talba said, explaining, “Taraba state has high potential of Hydros; the Mambila that’s been talked about since 1968 is in Taraba state; if the federal government does not have the funding to execute the the hydro electric project, the governors should think about doing so.”
Talba listed some of the alternative energy potentials of the region: “Borno has sun, Bauchi and Gombe also have gas. All the six states can use solar to generate energy,” stressing, “We are calling on the policy makers in the North-East region to invest massively in sector.”
He suggested: “They should come together and they can take it all from the federal government; they can establish a kind of a joint power generation project and incorporate a joint company to handle that.”
Talba suggested further: “They should look out for funding from international donors, the power needed would not less than 3000 megawatts, which could be sufficient to all the six states.”
The Taraba State Solicitor-General, Barr Sunday Maikarfi, disclosed that the Taraba State Renewable Energy Bill is currently before the State House of Assembly, assuring that it would soon pass it into law.
Also, the Permanent Secretary Transport and Energy, Borno state, Mohammed Bukar El-sadiq, described the regional meeting as a significant step toward sustainable energy solutions, fostering collaboration between government agencies, the private sector, and development partners to accelerate the transition to clean energy.
