A former Kano State Governor and Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has said the prolonged blackout in North has weakened economic and social activities in the region.
Kwankwaso who expressed displeasure that the situation has plunged many companies to close down, said there the need to address the huge deficit in the country’s power sector.
In a tweet, the NNPP national leader called for adoption of alternative power sources to address the country’s power needs, citing example with the initiative he employed in Challawa Gorge and Tiga Dams when he was the governor of Kano State.
“It is very disheartening that 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”, he lamented.
Underlining the importance of finding lasting solution to the problem, Kwankwaso said, state governments and private investors need to invest in alternative power sources to reduce over reliance in what he termed as ‘inadequate and aged’ energy sources.
“I wish to encourage all state governments and private investors to invest in alternative electricity sources, just like we did in Kano by installing two turbines in the Challawa Gorge and Tiga Dams in order to reduce the reliance on our inadequate and aged energy sources”, he added.