Key Takeaways
- Omoyele Sowore pledges to deliver uninterrupted electricity across Nigeria within three years if elected president.
- His plan involves dismantling the national grid in favor of regional grids powered by a mix of solar, gas, hydro, and biogas.
- Sowore proposes a N500,000 monthly minimum wage, funded by cutting government waste and recovering unpaid oil royalties.
- He also promises to transform healthcare through technology and improved local facilities, and will not seek medical treatment abroad.
- The AAC candidate links power instability to weak industrial capacity and high production costs, hindering local businesses.
Revolutionizing Nigeria's Power Landscape
African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has unveiled an ambitious plan to fundamentally transform Nigeria's perennial power crisis, promising a future of uninterrupted electricity supply within three years of assuming office. Speaking ahead of the 2027 general election, Sowore asserted that his administration would require more than 60,000 megawatts to restore the nation's economy to a productive level, a target he believes is achievable through a radical overhaul of the existing infrastructure.
At the core of Sowore's energy strategy is the complete dismantling of the current national electricity grid. He proposes replacing it with a system of decentralized regional grids, each powered by a diverse mix of energy sources including solar, gas, hydro, and biogas. This approach, he argues, would empower different regions to generate and distribute power based on their unique resource availability, fostering efficiency and reliability. “I hate the national grid by name and by practice and by existence I will take it apart so that you have regional grid and you have different mixings of electrical generation supply,” Sowore stated, emphasizing his commitment to this paradigm shift.
Beyond large-scale generation, the proposed system would also encourage individual participation, allowing citizens to generate electricity from solar panels on their homes and sell excess power back to neighbors or regional electricity bodies. Sowore highlighted the critical link between reliable power and industrial growth, citing how Nigeria's weak industrial capacity and high production costs, driven by erratic electricity, make local products like Ankara fabric more expensive than imported alternatives. Improved electricity, he believes, would also stimulate job creation through the expansion of generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.
Addressing Economic Hardship: The N500,000 Minimum Wage
Complementing his energy vision, Sowore reiterated his pledge to implement a ₦500,000 monthly living minimum wage for Nigerian workers. This bold proposal aims to ensure that workers can afford basic necessities, thereby stimulating economic activity and improving living standards. To fund this significant increase, Sowore outlined a multi-pronged approach focused on fiscal discipline and accountability. His administration would prioritize cutting government waste, blocking financial leakages, and aggressively recovering unpaid oil royalties.
Furthermore, Sowore plans to end what he described as "unnecessary government spending.