A review of Nigeria’s 2026 budget by SaharaReporters has shown that the State House, Aso Rock Villa, has earmarked about N1.9 billion for the fuelling of generators in the coming fiscal year.
The allocation appears under the “State House Headquarters” in the budget document as “Plant and Generator fuel cost,” with a total provision of N1.989 billion. In addition, the State House plans to spend N17.2 million on generator maintenance in 2026.
This brings the total amount budgeted for generator fuelling and maintenance at the Presidential Villa to nearly N2 billion.
The allocation comes despite a separate provision of N7 billion in the 2026 budget for the solarisation of the Aso Rock Villa. A similar project had N10 billion allocated to it in the 2025 fiscal year. Budget details published by the Budget Office of the Federation describe the N7 billion item as “provision of solarisation of Villa with solar mini grid.”
The planned solar project for the Presidential Villa, which houses the President and other top officials, is unfolding amid persistent power supply challenges across the country.
In April 2025, following public criticism over the N10 billion initially budgeted for the solarisation of Aso Rock, the Tinubu administration defended the project, describing it as a long-term investment in sustainability and energy efficiency. The justification came amid widespread concerns over government spending in the face of Nigeria’s economic difficulties.
Some Nigerians had criticised the move, arguing that adopting solar power at the Presidential Villa suggested the government was unable to deliver stable electricity to the wider population.
Meanwhile, several ministries, departments and agencies have also budgeted for alternative power sources in the 2026 fiscal year. The Police Academy, Wudil, allocated N700 million for solar power to serve its cadet hostels, administrative block and Senate building, while the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation budgeted N225 million for solar and inverter installations.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation estimated N700 million for power generating sets, while the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) budgeted N1.8 billion for power generating systems for its headquarters data centres and offices across the 36 states.
Other allocations include N66.1 million by the Federal Road Safety Corps for solar installations across three zonal commands, N59.5 million by the Police Service Commission headquarters for solar energy, and N147 million by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps for the second phase of solar power installation at its headquarters.
