The Federal Government asked other African states on Wednesday to work together to save the continent from its current state of abysmal energy poverty. It emphasized that it was unacceptable for 600 million Africans to be without access to power, considering the continent’s vast energy resources.
Chief Timipre Sylva, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, presented the charge during the African Petroleum Producers Organization conference in Abuja for Chief Executive Officers of APPO members’ oil and gas businesses.
He said, “It is unacceptable in this modern age that 600 million people in Africa have no access to electricity, and 900 million have no access to clean cooking fuel. Our imminent mission should be to rescue this vast number of our people from this grip of unjustifiable abject energy poverty.
“We should harness all our abundant and varied energy resources, including fossil fuels and renewable resources, to assure, not only availability and accessibility but also affordability and sustainability, to meet our increasing energy demand.
“Of course, this does not imply ignoring the issue of CO2 emissions and concerns about climate change, which is fueling the calls for the energy transition. We should, however, clarify that energy transition does not imply that some energy sources should be abandoned.”
Sylva told the oil companies’ CEOs and ministers of African countries that the energy transition was all about providing clean energy and not about discriminating between energy sources.
“All available energy sources will be required to end the high level of energy poverty in Africa and achieve the sustainable development goal of providing access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all,” he stated.
Oil company representatives and energy ministers from Angola, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Niger, and Nigeria were in attendance.
“You should use this opportunity to deliberate on how we can harness our financial resources and accelerate technology development to face the global energy transition onslaught,” Sylva told delegates at the meeting.
He added, “We need to develop cross-border infrastructure and expand the regional energy market to guarantee long-term energy security.” I do not doubt that the future of Africa’s oil and gas industry is still bright, despite the global energy transition uptake. You are central to making this a reality. Don’t fail us. “
