Rapid industrialisation needed to end energy poverty - Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has stated that the country needed to accelerate industrialisation to lift Nigerians out of energy poverty.

He said this at the just concluded the Nigerian International Energy Summit in Abuja.

“Nigeria needs rapid industrialisation to lift our people out of energy poverty, which results in real poverty as the country prepares for energy transition,” he declared.

Osinbajo noted the place of a partnership between the government and private sector in putting structures in place for speedy economic development cannot be overemphasised.

He urged stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to form alliances with the government to deliver gas, and other cleaner energy sources to the world.

According to him, Nigeria and Africa are crucial to delivering sustainable energy of the future.

During a session on ‘Building Energy of the Future’, the Deputy Managing Director of Deepwater TotalEnergies E&P Nigeria, Victor Bandele, said gas, solar and other cleaner energy were part of the future energy, adding that the company had launched projects to deepen its gas explosion and supply to the Nigerian market.

“TotalEnergies has met its gas obligations to the Federal Government, and we have also launched onshore projects to continue to enable us to continue delivering sustainable has to the market,” he said.

Bandele added that 50 per cent of the company’s more than 500 filing stations located across the country currently run on solar as part of its drive towards preparation for the energy of the future. The company, he said, also had plans of ending routine gas flaring before the end of 2023, adding that Nigeria must focus on investment to bridge the gap between its natural resources and delivering the products to the market for utilisation.

The Managing Director of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, Dr Phillips Mshelbila, said the firm had been committed to delivering 100 per cent of its LPG into the local market because it believed in the Federal Government’s future energy and how it can contribute to meeting the country’s energy transition plan through gas.

In his presentation, the Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Dr Osagie Okubor, advised the Federal Government not to be too quick to abandon other sources of energy for just gas, as the country should focus on harnessing every available source of energy.

“We should not be in a hurry to discriminate one source of energy from the other. We need to be broad-minded enough to harness all sources to the benefit of Nigeria and Africa. Yes, gas is important, but other sources such as solar, wind and others matter too so that we will be able to carry the younger generation along and be able to provide enough access to employment,” he said.

The 2023 NIES conference had the theme ‘Global Perspectives For A Sustainable Energy Future’.

Chief Operating Officer, Oando Energy Resources, Dr Alex Irune, said 80 per cent of the global energy growth will come from developing countries.