Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, on Tuesday said the state government required N1.9 billion for the total rehabilitation of electricity in the 23 local government areas of the state.
Tambuwal, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Malam Muhammad Bello, gave the figures when he received the report of a committee set up on the epileptic power supply in the state.
The seven-man committee, headed by the State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Manir Dan’Iya, was set up by the governor to find out the root causes of epileptic power supply and recommend the way forward in the state.
Tambuwal said the state government will collaborate with the Ministry of Local Government Affairs to see how best to execute the projects identified and suggested by the committee.
“The state government will do its own bit in order to improve the electricity network in the state, particularly in rural areas.
“Though, fixing the short and epileptic electricity supply is not the responsibility of the state, but there is the need for us to set up an inter-ministerial committee to conduct an assessment on how the government can intervene.
“Moreover there is need for reliable transmission process and distribution across the state, so that members of the public can benefit,” he said.
He commended the Federal government for the current upgrading of the electricity line from Kebbi state to Sokoto by the Minister of Power.
Tambuwal assured that the committee’s recommendations will be properly studied to ensure speedy implementation.
Earlier, the Chairman of the committee and Deputy Governor, Dan’iya, said that after the first meeting of the committee, it co-opted technical experts to assist in order to perform its duty effectively.
Dan’iya added that the committee also reached out to all the 23 local government Sole Administrators and visited all the affected rural communities with a view to verifying faults and assess their conditions.
