Minister of Power and Steel, Prof. Barth Nnaji

The Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji, and his management team were yesterday embarrassed when they paid a visit to the Emir of Kano, Dr. Ado Bayero.

While recalling his achievements since his appointment as minister before the monarch, there was a power outage by the Power Holding of Nigeria (PHCN).

An obviously embarrassed Nnaji had no choice but to apologise for the incident that turned the palace into darkness.

He told the monarch that plans have been completed by the federal government to establish a 330-KVA power line, in Kaduna for the supply of power to Kaduna, Kano, Zaria and other towns.

Kano, according to him, has since been identified as one of the states that should be given priority attention by PHCN due to the large number of industries in the states that are closing down.

Responding, the Kano emir expressed disappointment with the poor services offered by PHCN and called on the minister to put in place measures that will assist Kano access uninterrupted power supply in order to save industries that are folding up due to incessant power outages.

At the Government House Kano, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso told Nnaji that instead of the 500mw required by the state, only a meagre 37mw is shared by the state with Katsina, Kaduna and Jigawa state, including Niger Republic.

The governor said that his government is set to establish its power plant, adding, “Kano in the last one year bought 30 generators running into millions of naira. That is why if you come to Kano in the night you will not know that you are in Nigeria because of light.”