Power State Can Only Shine When We Work Together – Hon. Suleiman Umar

“Let’s Light Up Our Power State Together”

_A message from Hon. Suleiman Umar, Honourable Commissioner for Power and Renewable Energy, to all Nigerlites_

My people of Niger State, let me talk to you like one brother to another.

These past weeks, many of us have been asking the same question: “Why is light going on and off like this?”

Some communities have been in darkness for days. Some villages only see light at midnight. And I understand the frustration. You run businesses, your children read by candlelight, food spoils in freezers. It’s hard.

But let me share what’s really happening on the ground, so we can understand each other better.

The raining season is testing our wires and poles:

Right now, wind and rainstorms are hitting Niger State and beyond almost every day and night. In places like Bosso, Mokwa, Kontagora, Bida and many hidden corners of our 25 LGAs, we have old cables and wooden poles that have been standing for 15, 20 years. Water soaks them, wind shakes them, and before anyone notices, the pole leans, the wire snaps, and a whole street goes dark.

The electricity agencies — AEDC, NSERC etc .... cannot be in every place at the same time. But if you see a pole that’s about to fall, a cable lying on the ground, or a transformer making strange sounds, tell someone. Tell your Mai Unguwa. Tell your councillor. Tell your LGA chairman. When communities organize and report fast through their local authorities, our engineers move quickly. What takes 1 week to discover can be fixed in 1 day if we work together.

Light needs money to stay on:

Now let’s be honest with each other. Under Farmer Governor Umaru Bago’s New Niger Agenda, government is investing heavily in new substations, solar mini-grids, repairs, new transformers. The goal is simple: no community in Niger State should be left in darkness.

But electricity is not like air. It costs money to generate, to maintain, to repair. When bills are not paid, the agencies don’t have enough to buy materials, fuel their trucks, or pay technicians for emergency night repairs. That’s why some faults stay for long.

When you pay your bill on time, you’re not just paying for your own house. You’re helping the agency fix your neighbor’s fault faster too. Prompt payment = more materials + more manpower = stable, efficient light for all of us. Government cannot give free light to everybody. Poor payments affect everyone’s supply.

Illegal connections are stealing from all of us: 

I need to speak plainly here. Some people bypass meters, hook wires directly, or tamper with transformers. It looks like “free light” for one house. But what it really does is overload the system. One illegal connection can trip a transformer and put 200 houses in darkness. It can also kill someone, a child, a passerby, even the person doing it.

This is a criminal offence. Security agencies and our joint monitoring teams are arresting offenders daily. Please, desist. Don’t risk your life and don’t plunge your whole community into blackout.

The sun can also give us light:

If you have the means, I urge you: look at solar and other green energy options for your home or shop. Follow the right process, use approved installers registered with NSERC, and install it properly. With solar, even when there’s grid trouble, your lights, fans, and fridge can still run. It reduces your bill, reduces pressure on the national grid, and gives you light every day. Our Ministry is ready to guide anyone who wants to start.

So what do we do now, my people? 

This is my appeal: Let’s organize ourselves community by community. Let’s be the eyes of the agencies. Report bad poles and cables. Pay our bills so repairs can be faster. Stop illegal connections. Consider clean energy where you can.

When we all put our hands together, that’s when Farmer Governor Bago’s dream of a true _Power State_ will become real; light in Kontagora as bright as light in Minna, light in Bida as steady as light in Suleja.

Niger State is growing. Businesses are coming. Factories are opening. But all of that depends on one thing: reliable electricity. And reliable electricity depends on us, government, agencies, and communities, working as one team.

Let’s work together for sustainable development and growth across Niger State and beyond. The light we want starts with the actions we take today.

Thank you, and may every home in Niger State know light again.

A.B Makama 

Media Strategist To Honorable Commissioner Power and Renewable Energy