Chiemelie Eze in Antalya, Türkiye
The World Energy Council, Nigeria, is seeking partnerships with international energy organisations to improve electricity access, strengthen technical capacity and promote the productive use of energy across the country.
The Chief Insight Officer of the Council, Gabriel Adudua, disclosed this in an interview on the sidelines of the ongoing COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye, where he highlighted engagements with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the International Energy Agency (IEA), OPEC and Green Protocol.
Adudua said the Council had held discussions with the organisations towards establishing partnerships that would translate into tangible projects and improve Nigeria’s energy sector.
He disclosed that the Council was working towards signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Green Protocol to drive projects in energy sustainability.
“We have been able to actually sign up partnerships. We’ve been able to meet with quite a few. We’ll meet with Green Protocol, who are hugely into energy sustainability. And we’re signing a memorandum of understanding between Green Protocol and World Energy Council, Nigeria. And then we’re going to be driving projects in that area,” he said.
He added that the Council was planning to convene stakeholders across Nigeria’s energy ecosystem, including policymakers, producers, consumers and businesses, to improve coordination between policy formulation and implementation.
“We’re going to be convening the entire energy ecosystem around Nigeria where we bring policymakers together with both consumers, producers, and businesses around energy.
“To see how we can more effectively align policies with deliverables, because oftentimes that gap is where we have problems and then we seem to be disaggregated,” he said.
On the engagement with IRENA, Adudua said the Council was considering a framework that would enable closer collaboration with the agency, whose focal institution in Nigeria is the Energy Commission of Nigeria, also represented on the Council’s board.
He expressed concern that Nigeria was yet to fully benefit from IRENA’s activities despite the organisation’s nearly two decades of existence.
“We have a very good footing to be able to work very closely with IRENA to see that we begin to deliver projects in Nigeria, following their almost two decades of existence. And we’re yet to show something. But now we’re coming up with something tangible to be able to pursue,” he said.
He said discussions with the IEA were also focused on possible collaboration, particularly in accessing energy data, technology and technical expertise, adding that the Council was also engaging OPEC.
On Nigeria’s energy transition, Adudua maintained that the country should not abandon fossil fuels but should focus on making their exploration and utilisation more environmentally responsible.
“At the end of the day, we are still advocates for fossil fuels. And I say it without any shame or whatever. We cannot run away from the minerals or the resources we have to go chasing after what we do not know yet. But one thing we owe the world is to improve the responsibility with which we engage and explore fossil fuels,” he said.
He called for increased research into cleaner oil and gas extraction methods and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
“I’m a very strong advocate in the fact that there is need for more research in oil and gas. How do we make extraction cleaner? And that is also part of the discussion we have put on the table here, because we totally refuse the phasing out of fossil fuels. But rather, let us do it more responsibly,” he added.
Adudua also identified the growing adoption of solar energy as an important development in Nigeria’s efforts to improve electricity access, particularly in rural communities and among low-income households.
He said the country was yet to adequately document the extent of solar penetration, despite the increasing number of households and communities relying on solar panels, batteries and inverters.
“Practically every rural community, every even the urban poor today, you see that practically everybody has a solar panel above their roof. People have light, people are able to do the basics,” he said.
He, however, noted that such arrangements were not sufficient to support large-scale production and manufacturing, stressing the need to distinguish between basic electricity access and energy availability for economic development.
“Now, is that enough? No. Because captive power can hardly give us enough force to be able to enter into production, into manufacturing, into all that, which we also need to pay attention to,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the Council’s Nigerian Energy Outlook for 2027 would provide improved information on electricity access across the country.
On the challenges confronting the sector, Adudua identified outdated transmission infrastructure as a major constraint, calling for the modernisation of the national grid.
He also welcomed the Electricity Act 2023, which provides opportunities for states to generate and distribute electricity, noting that close to 20 states had taken steps to explore the opportunities created by the legislation.
“We’ve seen that close to 20 states have taken the bull by the horn. Two or three of them are doing extremely well and improving access to their people. We expect that the others will also join them and do the same thing,” he said.
He further observed that private investment in solar energy was helping households and businesses reduce their dependence on the national grid.
“I know resources, I know places in Abuja, in Lagos today that 100 per cent they are solar dependent. And I also make boast to tell you that so many homes in Nigeria today are solar dependent. They don’t even depend on traditional power anymore,” he said.
However, he stressed that improved energy access must be accompanied by reliable data to establish how much progress the country was making, particularly in rural areas.
“Our focus is to come to a time where every single Nigerian has access to light, no matter how little. And not only that, how do we improve their productivity as humans simply because they have improved access to light?” he said.
Adudua also highlighted the relationship between energy access and food security, citing the high level of agricultural losses in the Benue Trough.
He said the Council had discussed the issue with the Chairman of the North Central Development Commission, proposing the establishment of alternative energy-powered agricultural hubs and cold rooms to help farmers preserve perishable produce.
“The entire Benue Trough is a very rich and productive region, especially perishable agricultural goods. But over 78 per cent of that is wasted every day, every year, annually,” he said.
He explained that the proposed facilities would enable farmers to store their produce in cold rooms before transporting them to markets, thereby reducing post-harvest losses.
“All we need is to be able to build alternative energy-empowered agricultural hubs, cold rooms, so that farmers can gather in clusters, bring their products to these cold rooms, and then we store it for them. From there, we take them to the market,” he said.
According to him, energy could also improve healthcare delivery by providing electricity for refrigerators used to store vaccines and medicines in primary healthcare centres.
“This is how energy can help us to improve agriculture, can help us to improve transportation, can help us to improve education, can help us to improve every area of our livelihood, including health,” he said.
On concerns about fire incidents involving solar installations, Adudua said the Council was examining the components and technical specifications of solar systems to identify possible causes and safer alternatives.
He acknowledged that there had been some incidents, adding that continued research and technological improvements were necessary to reduce the risks.
“What we are doing now is that we are beginning to look at the sources and then the makeup. What are the chemical components? What are the technicalities of building those?” he said.
He added that the objective was to identify components that could contribute to fire incidents and explore alternatives that would make solar systems safer.
Adudua said the Council’s broader objective was to ensure that energy access went beyond providing electricity to households and translated into improved productivity, economic opportunities and better living conditions for Nigerians.