Governors of the 19 northern states on Monday called for the diversification of energy following persistent blackouts in 17 states of the region recently.
Apart from Niger and Kwara, 17 states in the North are without electricity supply in the last two weeks.
The worst affected are Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Gombe and Katsina, who have not had supply in the last two weeks.
Others are Sokoto, Zamfara, Bauchi, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Niger, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kogi and Benue.
Reports say that commercial activities are in dire state in the region following the outage occasioned by vandalism of the power transmission line in parts of northern Nigeria.
As part of efforts to resolve the issue, the Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Yahaya, who is also the Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, convened a joint meeting involving the 18 other governors from the region and traditional rulers in Kaduna State on Monday.
Sultan of Sokoto and Chairman of Northern Traditional Rulers Council, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar lll and other prominent monarchs from the region, including Shehu of Borno, Umar El-Kanemi; Emir of Zazzau, Nuhu Bamali; Ohinoyi of Ebira land, Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar, Emir of Kazaure and Emir of Bauchi were also at the meeting.
Among the regional governors who attended the meeting are Bauchi Governor, Bala Mohammed, Borno’s Prof. Babagana Zulum, Nasarawa’s Abdullahi Sule, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, Gombe’s Mohammed Yahaya, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna, Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, Yobe governor Maimala Bumi and Kwara’s AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq. Others were represented by their respective deputy governors.
The governors and monarchs called on the Federal Government to address the current electricity power blackout in northern states as well as invest in additional transmission lines and diversified energy supply to ensure improved electricity supply.
A communiqué signed by Governor Yahaya on behalf of the group read, “Forum resolves to call on the Federal Government and relevant Agencies to urgently address the current electricity power blackout affecting most of the Northern States due to vandalisation of electricity transmission infrastructure.
“This matter not only underscores the vulnerability of critical infrastructure but also the need to build additional transmission lines and diversify our energy supply so as to better connect our region and improve our energy resilience.”
Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party in the 2023 elections, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, expressed sadness over the massive blackout.
In a message posted on his X page on Monday, Kwankwaso described the development as disheartening.
He advised governors to prioritise alternative power sources to address energy needs.