Nigeria to push for beneficial energy transition for Nigeria, others – Sylva

Minister of State Petroleum Resources Chief Timipre Sylva said Nigeria will remain at the vanguard of the crusade for a multifaceted energy transition timetable that will attract more investments for Africa while taking cognizance of the current global energy transition in the direction of renewables.

According to Senior Adviser (Media & Communications) to the Minister, Horatius Egua, in a statement, the declaration comes on the heels of a collective decision by African petroleum and energy ministers to present a common voice at COP 27, in Egypt, in November, for Africa to be allowed to continue to exploit its hydrocarbon deposits for the development of the continent.

“Nigeria will continue to drive the direction of the narrative for the African energy transition programme. We have stood out to say no to a single track energy transition programme and had and will continue to support a transition agenda that will promote gas and renewed investments in the hydrocarbon sector for Africa,” Sylva said on Sunday.

Sylva, and Egyptian Energy Minister Terek el Molla have been the main voices in articulating a muti-track approach to the energy transition programme for Africa.

Both leaders are of the views that for the energy transition programme to be meaningful, Africa must be factored into the global energy transition programme in such a way that takes care of the peculiar African situations.

He said “Nigeria will continue to advocate for gas as a transition fuel for Africa. We have said that we can not move at the same pace with the rests of the world because we contribute less that 2% of the global green house gas emission. We are not the problem and we can not be made to pay for the sins we did not commit”.

At the just concluded Cerraweek, in Houston, United States of America, a fortnight ago, Sylva and El Molla led other African ministers to meeting where they resolved to project a common front in the energy transition timetable for Africa.

The African ministers resolved to speak and present a common front for Africa in the global energy transition agenda.

“We have huge hydrocarbon deposits in the continent and must we abandon it because some people have said we should? Some African countries like Ghana, Angola and others are just coming to the table and should they just abandon what they have because some countries are saying we should develop renewable energy? That will be an unfair decision,” Sylva said.