By Omotayo Edubi
As the debate for smooth energy transition gathers momentum, Federal Government of Nigeria says it will put in place all-inclusive measures that also address the prevailing issues.
Giving this charge recently was the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva. He spoke at the Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja.
According to him, in adopting global future fuels, energy-poverty and climate change nexus must be addressed simultaneously and must be geared toward clean and sustainable sources.
“For countries such as Nigeria that is rich in natural resources, but still energy poor, the transition must not come at the expense of affordable and reliable energy for people, cities, and industry.
“On the contrary, it must be inclusive, equitable, and just, which means preserving the right to sustainable development and poverty eradication as enshrined in global treaties such as the Paris accord.
“It is evident that what makes the most sense from the point of view of balancing energy security with environmental sustainability is the use of gas as a transition fuel,” the minister said.
Stakeholders in the Nigeria energy and gas industry spent the earlier part of the event brainstorming on challenges confronting energy transition in the country to find a solution to it.
The panelists maintained that if Nigeria was to make her story a successful one, they must reach out to not only the technocrats but also other sectors of the society, particularly the youths. They stressed that the youths must be involved in the development of the solution that would be of more benefit to them than the older generation.
The highpoint of the summit was the recognition of industry giants like Huawei Technologies (Nigeria) Limited, who received the award as the ‘Best Technology, Offshore, Oil and Gas Company.’
The award was presented to the company at the gala night of the summit which was held at the Banquet of the State House, Abuja.
The award was given in recognition of Huawei’s continued leadership in the ICT space across multiple sectors, and especially in the offshore sub-sector which is a major focus in recent times of the oil and gas industry.