By Ghazali Ibrahim
The Aso Rock Presidential Villa is set to disconnect from Nigeria’s national electricity grid by March 2026.
The Federal Government has confirmed, as part of a move to rely entirely on a newly completed solar power mini-grid for its energy needs.
State House Permanent Secretary Temitope Fashedemi told the Senate Committee on Special Duties on Wednesday that the solar installation at the presidential complex was completed toward the end of 2025 and has been undergoing tests since December, with officials hopeful that a full transition will be achieved within the first quarter of the year.
Fashedemi said the initiative is expected to reduce the government’s electricity costs and significantly cut reliance on the often unreliable national grid and costly diesel generators.
He pointed to the State House Medical Centre, which switched to solar power in May 2025 and has operated largely without generators, as evidence of the system’s viability.
The project part of the Solarisation of the Villa with Solar Mini Grid has been funded through budget allocations, with about ₦10 billion in the 2025 appropriation and a proposed ₦7 billion in the 2026 budget.
Officials say the system, supported by battery storage, will serve as the Villa’s primary power source once fully commissioned.
The transition is expected to eliminate extensive generator use at the seat of government, and planners say backup generators will be retained only for emergencies once the solar system takes over completely.
