Blackouts: Niger residents question govt’s push for solar as situation worsens

By the clip Eid al-Fitr arrived, galore residents crossed Niger State were already bracing for the worst. Electricity had go progressively erratic.

Entire neighbourhoods reported days without power. Then, during 1 of the astir important spiritual celebrations of the year, the grid went quiet, with hardly 2 hours of energy a day.

Fans stopped. Water systems failed. Businesses unopen early.

“We planned for Sallah, but determination was nary light. With this heat, it was conscionable unbearable,” a nonmigratory of Chanchaga said.

For many, the blackout marked much than a disruption, it was a breaking point.

A Controversial Message

As the vexation grew, Governor Umaru Bago, speaking during a media briefing connected February 28, 2026, urged residents to see star powerfulness arsenic an alternative.

The absorption was contiguous arsenic crossed Minna and surrounding communities, residents described the proposal arsenic unrealistic.

“How bash you archer radical to spell star erstwhile they tin hardly spend food? The authorities is migrating, and citizens are near to suffer. Why not enactment radical to marque beingness easier?” Garba, a trader astatine the Minna cardinal marketplace said.

Some residents said that adjacent with E...