The Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), has said that the half of the global population of people without electricity live in Africa.
The minister said about 1.5 billion people lack electricity supply globally, out of which 90 million live in Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria.
Mr. Fashola represented by the Acting Director, Renewable and Rural Power Access Development, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Faruk Yabo, at the annual international conference of the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan (UI), said despite the huge deposit of both renewable and nonrenewable energy in Africa, the continent still lacks electricity.
He said, “Africans have trillions standard cubic feet (SCFs) of natural gas reserves, billions of barrels of crude oil reserves and billions of tons of coal; but Africa has even greater abundance of renewal energy resources. Unfortunately, of the nearly 1.5 billion people estimated to lack electricity supply the world over, half live-in Africa. Nigeria alone is estimated to have over 90 million people living without electricity supply according to the world bank”.
The minister for Power said there must be combined upgrade of both renewable energy and conventional power plants to solve the power problem in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
The former governor of Lagos state said renewable energy is the fastest source power that can be deployed as the technology is compatible for decentralized, stand-alone electric sources and ideal for local, rural communities.
He noted that the huge energy deficit and the negative environmental impact of using fossil fuel for energy generation, as well as the falling costs of renewable energy technologies like solar power, are driving the current transition towards renewable sources as being witnessed across the world, including in Africa.
“In 2018 we are making efforts to complete and commission the following renewable energy projects: 10 MW Katsina wind farm, 30MW Gurara Hydro Power, 29MW Dadin Kowa Hydropower and 40MW Kashimbila Hydropower, 700MW Zungeru Hydro Power and the 14 Solar IPP are expected to come on stream soon,” he added.
Also speaking at the event, Oyo state Chief of Staff, Dr. Gbade Ojo, who represented the state governor; Mr. Abiola Ajimobi, said that “the good Lord has blessed us with abundant diverse natural resources that are continuously replenished continuously. But we need the policy to encourage investors in developing the technology for Africa and to also embolden financials to allocate huge funds to renewable energy development in Africa.
“The outlook of us as policymakers, researchers and investors is a strategic partnership that will result to increase in the contribution of renewable energy generation in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, in a way that will make it attractive, accessible and affordable to the general public.
The host, Vice Chancellor of University of Ibadan, Professor Idowu Olayinka said that the significance of the conference is not just for the town but also for the gown as the University spends very considerable amount of money to ensure stable electricity supply that can support research, training and other activities on campus that will impact the nation and the world positively.
He said, “I will like to remind the Hon. Minister that about two years ago, the Federal Government made a pledge of support to build a 10MW Solar Plant in collaboration with the German for the University. While other universities have been included in the scheme, the University of Ibadan is yet to record any progress on the plant.
“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the Minister and the Rural Electrification Agency to revisit the project given that the successful completion will further aid research and training activities in the University as we all work very hard to make UI the best among the rest.