Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the use of gas as a transition fuel will help in stemming deforestation and advancing Nigeria’s broader development goals.
The vice president said Nigeria had one of the largest gas reserves in the world and deserved to reap more from it.
‘’The use of gas as a transition fuel would not only help in stemming deforestation, it would also advance Nigeria’s broader development goals, especially because Nigeria has one of the largest gas reserves in the world,’’ Osinbajo said.
Prof. Osinbajo in a statement by his media aide, Laolu Akande, said he stated this when he received at the Presidential Villa, the US Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Change, Mr. John Kerry, who was on a working visit to Nigeria. Prior to his meeting with the VP, Mr. Kerry had also met with President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking at the meeting with Kerry and the US delegation, the Vice President highlighted the need for Nigeria to continue the exploration and use of gas as a way of arresting deforestation, transiting away from dirtier fuels like diesel, kerosene and petrol, while at the same time ensuring that the country has the necessary energy baseload for industrialization.
Pointing out that Nigeria has one of the largest gas reserves in the world and should benefit from its exploitation, the VP also highlighted the significance of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, which is the first in Africa.
It would be recalled that Prof. Osinbajo had discussed the Energy Transition Plan during his recent visit to Washington D.C., where the VP met with his American counterpart, VP Kamala Harris at the White House, among other top US government officials. Before the recent US trip, the Federal Government had launched the Energy Transition Plan at a global virtual event.
