Post by Henry Emeka (@Emekus)

Providing free electricity or free statewide Wi‑Fi to a population of 6.1–6.4 million Nigerians would cost far more than any Nigerian state budget can sustain. Even rough estimates show why it’s not realistic today.

Cost of Free Electricity for Ogun State
To estimate, assume:

Average household size: 5 people → about 1.2 million households

Minimum basic electricity need: 100 kWh per household per month (very low)

Cost of generation + distribution in Nigeria: ₦120–₦150 per kWh

Monthly cost
1.2 million households ×100kWh×₦120=₦14.4billion per month
Yearly cost₦14.4 billion×12=₦172.8 billion per year
Ogun State’s entire annual budget is around ₦600–₦700 billion, so free electricity alone would consume 25–30% of the whole state budget.

And this estimate is very conservative—real usage is much higher.
Cost of Free Statewide Wi‑Fi/Data
To cover a whole state with public Wi‑Fi, you need:

Fibre backbone across all LGAs

Thousands of access points

Continuous bandwidth from MTN/Glo/Airtel

Maintenance, security, and power

Bandwidth cost estimate
If even 3 million people use just 1 GB/day:

3million×1GB=3million GB/day
At a wholesale rate of ₦50–₦80 per GB:

3million GB×₦50=₦150million per day
Yearly cost₦150 million×365=₦54.7billion per year
This does not include infrastructure, towers, fibre, or maintenance.

Real cost would exceed ₦100 billion per year.

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