- Minister calls on the UN to provide more funds for the power sector.
- Increased power production will lead to increased economic activities and youth employment rates.
- Minister states that the government is focusing on renewable energy as the energy of the future.
Nigeria’s Minister of State, Power, Mr Goddy Jedy-Agba, has called on the United Nations (UN) to provide additional financial support for the power sector. The minister made this plea when he visited the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Mrs Amina Mohammed, in New York, United States. The Minister, alongside the Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer of Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Mr Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, travelled as part of the country’s delegation to the ongoing 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
While commending the Deputy Secretary-General on her work at the UN, the minister added that financing had been a major challenge in Nigeria’s electricity sector. He noted that power supply is a huge driver of economic development, and fixing the power supply issues will boost all sectors of the economy and increase youth employment rates. The Minister called on the UN to provide additional funds to the sector.
The minister also added that the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari believes that clean energy is the future and, as such, is investing massively in renewable energy sources. “In the past two years, the government has completed several projects in the renewable energy sector while several others are at different stages of completion. The President has directed us to focus more on rural areas because we need to give the lives of those who reside in rural areas a meaning. We need to help their small and medium scale businesses grow,”
Jedy-Agba added. In her response, Amina Mohammed, the former minister of Environment of Nigeria, thanked the minister for the visit and pledged to continue to work hard and do the best for Nigeria and the global community.