Transparency, accountability critical for Nigeria’s energy transition, says NEITI

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) says the country’s energy transition journey must be driven by credible information and data on the country’s energy security.

Ogbonnaya Orji, executive secretary, NEITI, said this at its national stakeholders dialogue on energy transition on Thursday in Abuja.

Orji said Nigeria must not be allowed to be rushed into a hasty energy transition without a thorough analysis of its comparative advantage and implications, resources, economy, and livelihoods of citizens.

Insisting that Nigeria must develop a transparency and accountability mechanism for its transition plans, he said the agency had commenced work with other partners to make citizens and stakeholders gain insight into the risks and opportunities associated with energy transition.

“As the world transits from the use of fossil fuel to cleaner and sustainable energy, transparency and accountability are critical to the process, including the reporting of emissions, disclosure of climate risks and overall governance of the energy industry,” he said.

“Nigeria must prepare a mainstream transparency and accountability mechanism into her energy transition agenda to avoid the pitfalls of her past and present energy sector.”

Orji further said Nigeria, being an oil and gas-dependent country, was vulnerable to the risks and challenges of the energy transition, adding that the global energy transition agenda was already reshaping the oil and gas landscape.

He added that NEITI, alongside the international secretariat of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), had commissioned a study to examine the actual implications and impacts of the energy transition on Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

He said the report would soon be published and will be widely disseminated to all the stakeholders present at the dialogue, adding that the outcome of the meeting was expected to feed into the country’s transition plan and its implementation.

On her part, Nafi Chinery, west African regional manager, Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI) Anglophone, appreciated Nigeria’s desire for energy transition.

According to Chinery, African continent’s average per capita electricity consumption sits at about 600 kilowatt hours per year, compared with the world average of about 3,200-kilowatt hours.

She said when compared the consumption with the European Union, U.S and China, it threw up stark variations.

“The current global discussions around energy transition places a responsibility on Africa to develop robust plans that will aid the transition towards net-zero emissions,” she said.

“This will mitigate future impacts of climate change on the continent and reduce the costs of adaptation.

“Nigeria’s emphasis on gas as a transition fuel aligns with the thinking of most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and the African Union Commission in the run-up to COP27.”

Also speaking, Gabriel Okeowo, country director, BudgIT foundation, said the transition to renewable energy would be a great potential for Nigeria and the continent at large.

He said the private sector would continue to support the Nigerian government to achieve its aims.