- Nigeria is highly vulnerable to the risks and challenges of energy transition.
- About 660 million Africans might be without electricity up till 2030.
Nigeria, a fossil fuel-dependent country, may be vulnerable as it weighs actions for the energy transition plan as developed countries plan to cut funding for oil and gas.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, stated this on Thursday at the National Dialogue on Energy Transition in Abuja, which was convened by NEITI, the Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI) and BudgIT.
Orji said, “The global energy transition agenda is already reshaping the oil and gas landscape. Some public finance institutions announced their commitment to ending finance for overseas fossil fuel energy projects by the end of the year 2022.
Being an oil and gas-dependent country, Nigeria is eminently exposed to the risks and challenges of the energy transition. Nigeria must not be rushed into hasty energy transition decisions without a thorough analysis of its comparative advantage.
NEITI was integrating transparency and accountability mechanisms in Nigeria’s energy transition, especially in the area of energy sustainability. The Chief Finance Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mohammed Ajia, buttressed the importance of transparency in the energy transition process.
Nafi Chinery, the West Africa Regional Manager of NRGI, forecasted the effect of energy transition on Africa. About 660 million Africans might be without electricity up till 2030, with 910 million people not having access to clean cooking systems.
She noted that Nigeria’s emphasis on gas as a transition fuel aligns with the thinking of most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the African Union Commission in the run-up to COP27.