Nigerian Town in Darkness for Decades to Finally Have Electricity

Carved out of Ganye Local Government Area in 1996, Toungo is one of the 21 local governments in Adamawa State. It is, however, the only one in the state yet to be connected to the national grid. The town is home to over 500,000 people and has never had electricity, with residents either living in darkness or providing their own electricity using generators. Connecting places within Nigeria to the national grid is the federal government's responsibility. However, the government gave administrative approval to the Adamawa State Government to execute the project. This is despite the budgetary provision of almost a billion naira since 2015 for the electrification project. Some residents of Toungo have said that the absence of electricity in the town has discouraged investments there. Nigeria has been plagued by the poor supply of electricity for years and this has impacted negatively on the economy.