Osinbajo travels US over Nigeria’s energy transition plan
Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s vice president, has departed for the United States to seek partnerships and support for the country’s Energy Transition Plan, launched recently.
On Osinbajo’s entourage are the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Works and Housing, Raji Babatunde Fashola; Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu; Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi. Others are the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General/CEO for Sustainable Energy for All, Ms Damilola Ogunbiyi. They are to be joined by the Nigerian ambassador to the United States Dr. Uzoma Emenike.
Laolu Akande, Osinbajo’s media aide, said this in a statement. The Energy Transition Plan is geared towards a homegrown, data-backed and multi-pronged strategy for the attainment of 2060 net-zero emissions commitment in five critical sectors: power, cooking, oil and gas, transport and industry, adding that Nigeria needs $410 billion to deliver the Transition Plan by 2060.
For the plan to succeed, it will at least gulp $10 billion per annum. The presidential spokesman said at the launch, the World Bank and a renewable energy organization – Sun Africa, pledged a sum of $1.5 billion each totaling an initial $3 billion investment to support the implementation of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan.
He added that while in the United States, Prof. Osinbajo will meet US Vice President, Kamala Harris; US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm; Secretary of Treasury, Janet Yellen, and President of World Bank Group, David Malpass, among others.
The Vice President will return to Abuja early next week
