According to Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Nigeria has to spend $410 billion more than usual by 2060 to complete its energy transition strategy.
When opening the seventh meeting of the National Council on Hydrocarbons (NCH), which had as its theme “Roadmap and Strategic Option Towards Achieving Energy Transition in Nigeria,” the minister made this declaration.
The weekend event was organized in Minna by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Niger State government.
Sylva asserts that energy is essential for practically all aspects of development, noting that life expectancy is closely tied to per capita energy consumption.
The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Amb. Gabriel Aduda stated that Nigeria must solve its energy challenges and that doing so will require a flexible policy.
According to Sylva, the Federal Government unveiled the energy transition plan on August 24, 2022, intending to raise the funds necessary to begin implementing the plan. The plan showed the country’s pathway to achieving net zero emissions by 2060 and Nigeria’s leadership role in enabling a just and equitable climate future for Africa.
However, he advised the attendees to use the occasion to build on the decisions made at the previous council meeting, which was held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in 2021.
The Federal Government was urged by the governor of Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello, to take into account building a platform (gas terminals/pumping stations) inside the state for the Ajaokuta/Kaduna/Kano gas pipeline project that will pass through it.
Bello explained that the platform would support the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Garam Industrial Park, and Baro Port, which has the potential to increase economic activity along the Kogi/Niger/Kaduna corridor for the Federal Government’s industrialization drive, especially given that Niger is one of the pioneer states implementing the National Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) expansion plan.
The governor confirmed that economically viable hydrocarbon was present in the state while speaking through Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Ahmed Matane.
To move quickly with the next phase of the exploration process in the Bida Basin, he asked the Federal Government and its agencies to take action.
According to Bello, President Muhammadu Buhari deserves praise for realizing the nearly 50-year-old dream of oil exploration in the northern frontier.
