FGN committed to achieving 30% renewable energy target by 2030 – Minister
Story from Abah ADAH, Abuja
Minister of Power, Engineer Abubakar Aliyu has affirmed that in pursuit of its energy transition, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) is committed to achieving 30 per cent renewable in Nigeria energy by the year 2030 in line with the vision 30:30:30.
Aliyu gave the assurance in his office in Abuja Thursday when the coordinator of the US Government’s Power Africa Programme, Mr Mark Carrato and his team, paid him a courtesy visit, according to a statement from the information directorate of the ministry.
The Minister stressed the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that a solid foundation for energy infrastructure is laid down to upscale the energy provision and attract more investors to Nigeria, adding that the energy transition programme of the federal government is to increase the operational capacity through the vision 30-30-30 in which 30% of Nigeria energy would be renewable.
He thanked the delegation for their willingness to align with the Nigeria Energy Transition Programme stressing that Nigeria’s hope of attaining 0% fossil energy by 2060 is on course.
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Aliyu equally noted that the federal government would continue to work frantically to abate the security challenge in the country so as to attract more investors, adding that the effort in this direction is yielding the desired results.
While thanking USAID for their continuous technical support, Abubakar said various areas of interventions in the power sector are opened for investors and would be spelt out in the course of further discussions.
Speaking earlier, the coordinator of the US Government’s Power Africa Programme, Mr Mark Carrato, said USAID Power Africa Nigeria Sector Programme (PA-NPSP) has worked closely with Nigeria over the years.
He said the five-year USAID Power Africa Nigeria Sector Programme (PA-NPSP) is a pointer to their commitment to increase electricity availability, access and reliability, assuring continuous engagements to actualise the goal of Power Africa.
In a related development, the Minister while playing host to the World Bank Country Director, Nigeria, Western and Central Africa Region, Shubham Chaudhuri and his team, who visited for a joint midterm review mission of the project much earlier, assured the funding partners of North Core/Dorsale Nord Regional Inter-connector Project consisting of Nigeria-Niger-Benin-Togo-Burkina Faso of Nigeria’s commitment to the actualisation of the project.
Responding to the issues of social safeguard payments-compensation of communities who the project will affect, according to a separate state from the ministry, the Minister said there is adequate budgetary provision to cater for them particularly in the 2022 budget assuring them that as soon as all required processes are put in place the compensation would commence.
Responding to the security concern raised by his guests earlier, the Minister assured them that adequate security measures are being put in place by all West Africa Power Pool Countries (WAPP), reminiscence that the Minister of Defence, Nigeria and all other defence ministers were present at the February 2022 ground-breaking ceremony at Niamey, Niger to put in place measures as regards to security.
The Country Director, Shubham Chaudhuri, represented by senior energy specialist and project manager, Emmanuel Py, had requested adequate security along the corridors stressing its importance to early completion of the project.
Chaudhuri said as part of the objective of the joint mid-term review mission on the North Core Regional Interconnection Project by the World Bank, Africa Development Bank (AFDB), and the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), are to discuss the results achieved and constraints to the implementation of the remaining project activities and the Northern Corridor project; Social Safeguard payments steps in terms of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), implementation in Nigeria among others.
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