A group known as Kwara Must Change has set a bold target for the Kwara State government: achieving 100% electricity access, making it the first Nigerian state to accomplish such a feat.
In light of the state’s efforts to develop Kwara’s capital into a smart city, Kwara Must Change believes that achieving full electricity access within the next three years will demonstrate the state’s readiness for development and industrialization.
Abdulrazaq Hamzat, the convener of the group, pointed out that, aside from Lagos which is just shy of reaching the target by less than 1%, no other state in Nigeria has achieved 100% electricity access.
Lagos currently boasts the highest electricity access in the country at 99.3%, with Kwara State ranking among the top three states with 90.6% access.
While acknowledging Kwara State’s commendable efforts over the years, Hamzat stressed that more could be done to expand electricity access and fulfill this goal.
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He emphasized the need for the state government to take deliberate action to provide 100% electricity access within the next three years, positioning Kwara as a pioneer in this aspect nationwide.
Hamzat highlighted that achieving this milestone would not only benefit the state’s development but also open up opportunities to address other aspects of the electricity value chain, such as energy equity and security.
Explaining the possibility of the task, Hamzat said, in November 1920, Vladimir Lenin, leader of the then Soviet Union (Russia) issued a slogan identifying electricity as the only remaining step in Russia’s development, making access to electricity a major target for the country and within the five years, the entire Russia federation had electricity access, giving them opportunity to concentrate on other aspect of power generation as part of its broad 10 years plan.
“Similarly, in 2015, China successfully connected all of its 1.4 billion population to electricity access”, he said.
Hamzat added that, “Achieving 100% electricity access will open a new chapter in our quest for energy security and this will greatly help in attracting investment”.
Kwara Must Change, therefore, concludes that, while it is aware that there’s ongoing efforts by the state government to fully take advantage of the new electricity deregulation in the country, it urged the government to include 100% electricity access within the next three years as part of its broad target in the Kwara State energy sector.
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