Jigawa State Governor Malam Umar Namadi on Thursday commissioned a solar electrification project at the Dutse Ultra-Modern Market, connecting 300 shops to renewable energy in a move he said would reduce costs and improve business operations for traders.
The project, executed by the Jigawa State Economic Empowerment and Youth Employment Agency, includes solar panels installed across the market and ceiling fans fitted in each shop at no cost.
“Today, by the power and mercy of Allah, we have been able to fulfil the promise we made a year ago that we would provide the shops in Dutse Market with electricity powered by solar energy,” Namadi said at the commissioning ceremony.
“Three hundred shops have each been connected and provided with solar-powered fans. This will ease business activities, and by the grace of Allah, increase the profits of traders as they will no longer pay electricity bills and will enjoy uninterrupted supply,” he added.
Hamisu Mohammed Gumel, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, said in a statement that the project was part of the administration’s commitment to clean, reliable, and affordable energy for small businesses.
According to the statement, the governor also pledged to install solar streetlights within the market to boost security and announced other measures to support trade in the state, including facilitating the establishment of a Bank of Industry (BOI) branch and injecting ₦4 billion into small-scale enterprises through a partnership with the bank.
“The governor urged entrepreneurs and traders to take advantage of this facility and access the funds available through the BOI to expand their businesses,” Gumel said.
Part of the solar grid installation was inaugurated last year by Vice President Kashim Shettima during an official visit to the state, when the government promised to extend connections to individual stalls.
Alhaji Yahaya Ibrahim, Chairman of the Jigawa State Traders’ Association, welcomed the project and thanked the administration for its interventions. “The market electrification project is only the beginning of the governor’s planned support for traders in the state,” he said.