FG Urged To Focus On Energy Security To Boost Natural Gas Production

The federal government have been urged to focus on energy security to further decentralise the power sector regulatory environment and incentivise investors to increase natural gas production in Nigeria aggressively.

Chairman, Geometric Power Ltd, Prof. Barth Nnaji, made the plea at the  American Business Council (ABC) Economic Update with theme: “ Energising Nigeria: Navigating Challenges, Harnessing Opportunities” on Thursday in Lagos.

Nnaji said the country should not join the “tree huggers” of the world because they will abandon the “ship” of climate change initiatives once their own energy security is threatened.

He said Nigeria should recognise that natural gas is  transition energy. We will not be cowed  to classify it as a regular fossil fuel to be extinguished. This fuel is our energy ticket to sustainable economic development.

He noted that Nigeria had set a target of 2030 to achieve complete flare-out in its oil industry and had various aspirations to pursue renewable energy options, though challenges to those interests persisted.

According to him, the Nigerian government at every level  should employ already tested approaches to collaborate with competent private sector operators to quickly progress power availability to the level that matches our country’s sustainable economic growth desire, saying they must recognise that movement towards the use of electric vehicles will require significant improvements in electric power availability as well as the recharging stations infrastructure.

He encouraged different states of this nation to consider working with capable private sector operators to employ forms of the Aba Integrated Power project model where power plant is embedded in the DisCO.

The chairman, Geometric Power Ltd, Prof urged governments to ringfence power availability initiatives from the usual projects where officials  compromise. “Let them say, “this is my altruistic gift to my people”

Chief Executive Officer, American Business Council, Mrs Margaret Olele said  that the theme of the event was a critical conversation on how government and private sector can best move forward to energise the country.