Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has accused the international community, especially development finance institutions of concluding plans to withdraw funding for gas projects in the African continent.
This is as the vice president was emphatic in his view that natural gas which Africa has in abundance must be accepted as transition fuel.
According to tweet posts on his official Twitter account, the concerns were raised by Osinbajo on Friday, January 21, 2022, while making a virtual address to the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) tagged Davos Agenda, where he appealed for support in the adoption of renewables for countries that wholly depend on oil.
Osinbajo said that the implementation of this plan will have severe implications on the medium and long term for African economies as well as slow down the process of phasing out more polluting fuels like coal, diesel and heavy fuel oil.
What the Vice President is saying
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, during his speech, said that Nigeria will fail in its plan to transition to cleaner energy if the funding of gas projects is discouraged by world leaders.
Osinbajo in his statement said, ‘’We are emphatic in our view that natural gas which Africa has in abundance must be accepted as a transition fuel.
‘’Moves in the international community especially development finance institutions to defund gas projects will have severe implications in the medium to long-term for African economies and will slow down the process of phasing out more polluting fuels such as coal, diesel and heavy fuel oil (HFO).’’
He pointed out that gas as a transition fuel is crucial, not just for effective transition, but also for the country’s economy, noting that gas as a transition fuel is completely without doubt the only pathway.
What you should know
Nigeria is endowed with abundant natural gas resources, which in energy terms, is in excess of the nation’s proven crude oil reserve.
President Muhammadu Buhari at last year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, made a commitment to net zero emissions by 2060. Nigeria had last year launched a decade of gas as a transition fuel.
