President Bola Tinubu says risk management is vital for Africa’s transition to cleaner energy, emphasising that Africa must not become a victim of the disruptions that come with climate change mitigation measures.

He explained that Africa contributes the least to global carbon emissions but bears a disproportionate share of economic burden for transitioning to cleaner energy.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale disclosed this on Saturday in a statement in Abuja.

The president spoke at a panel on African Green Industrialisation hosted by the COP28 Presidency and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Dubai, UAE.

He said that Nigeria and Africa urgently required investments in alternative energy to be able to fully and effectively transition.

The president said there was an urgent need to heal the bleeding earth,  adding, “but there is also an urgent need for new investments in critical sectors.”

According to him, these investments would leverage Africa’s massive potential contribution to the new global green economy while enabling the continent to effectively adapt and transition.

“Global manufacturers must partner with us to invest in the health of our collective environment. Africa doubles as an unrivaled opportunity in this respect.

‘’We are removing all obstacles that are inhibiting progress as Africa’s largest economy. The investment environment is becoming cleaner and better. But how will Africa not be a victim of all these changes? How do we get value for our resources?

‘’We all agree that the earth is crying for healing, but how do you tell a grandmother to stop using firewood to prepare her food? It is for me to invest in solar energy, alternative energy.

“Here, you must encourage investment, and equally consider: how would this investment affect us? Yes, we have the market and sufficient housing that you can electrify with solar panels.

‘’There is iron ore; there is investment there, too. Risk management is very key for Africa. The opportunities must be translated soon. We are moving forward with urgency, and we will maximise the value given in return for those resources,” Tinubu said.

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) says there will be a five-day planned power outage in some parts of Anambra, beginning from December 2 to December 6.

The Head, Corporate Communications of the company, Mr Emeka Ezeh, disclosed this in a statement issued in Enugu and made available to newsmen on Saturday.

Eze stated that “the outage is to enable the Transmission Company of Nigeria engineers to carry out maintenance on their facility.”

According to him, as a result of this planned maintenance, the 60MVA power transformer at the GCM Station will be shut down for the five days the maintenance will last.

He said, “This will mainly affect our customers under Ogbaru District and some under Onitsha District.

“The following feeders will be without supply: Harbour 33KV, Golden Oil 33KV, Dozzy 11KV, BridgeHead 11KV, E-Amobi 33KV and Atani Water Works 11KV.”

Others, he said, would include Premier 11KV, Housing EBH 11KV, Iyiowa 11KV, Wharf 11KV, Fegge 11KV, Uga 11KV, Market 11KV, Bida 11KV, Iweka 11KV and Market 11KV feeders.

“Consequently, all customers fed by these feeders, which include the whole of Atani, Bida, Main Market, Iweka, Fegge and its adjoining estates as well as all our heavy-industrial clusters within Ogbaru, will be out of supply for the period of the outage,” Eze added.

He expressed regrets over the inconveniences the outage would cause its customers.

He, however, assured them that the company would be on standby for supply restoration once the maintenance was completed.

“We are committed to providing you with quality service delivery,” he stated.

Leading executives of Oil and Gas companies are set to showcase their various contributions to Nigeria’s local content at the 12th Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Forum in Yenagoa beginning today.

The PNC is hosted by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in partnership with DMG Events and Bayelsa State Government.

Major international oil companies (IOCs), members of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), and service companies, would be actively participating in the four-day conference, with their chief executive officers functioning in one capacity or the other, principally as moderators of panel discussions or panellists or delivering papers on critical subjects relating to local content practice in the oil and gas industry.

For the 2023 edition, key subjects for the panel sessions centre around “Providing an Enabling Environment for Investment in the Energy Sector,” “Opportunities in Decarbonisation and Domestic Gas Utilization,” “Deepening Nigerian Content in the Manufacturing Sector,” and “Financing a Thriving Midstream Sector for Socioeconomic Development,” and Sustainable Framework for Human Capacity Development.” Presentations on R&D Success Stories are also expected.

In addition to the expansive exhibition, the PNC Forum affords prospective investors and clients as well as fund managers an interactive platform with key Federal Government officials overseeing the oil and gas sector, key industry operators and service providers, and chief executives of the regulatory agencies. Among the industry players, a major activity is evaluation of their performances in local content practice, and consideration of appropriate adjustments aimed at better results.

The 17-story Nigerian Content Tower (NCT), Headquarters of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Swali, Yenagoa, is set to host oil and gas industry eggheads and policy makers as the yearly Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Forum 2023, 12th edition, kicks off on 4th December.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and his Gas counterpart, H.E. Hon. Ekperikpo Ekpo would lead other big wigs of the oil and gas industry heading to Yenagoa for one of the biggest events in the calendar of the oil and gas industry.

The Ministers are expected to deliver ministerial addresses and to show the direction of the Federal Government’s thinking concerning Nigerian Content and investment strategies.

This year’s edition is slated to open with an invitational golf tourney and welcome dinner – the first of the three gala nights that would be sponsored by Coleman Wires and Cables, the Bayelsa State Government and the Nigeria LNG Ltd, to be closed on Thursday, December 7, 2023 with a visit by delegates to the facility of MG VOWGAS in Port Harcourt, River State.

Some of the presentations that will be received at the PNC include the opening keynote address by the host of the event and Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, while the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, and Chief Executive, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, alongside other key industry figures would feature prominently in the 4-day event. Also, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari is also expected to grace the PNC as he had always done in previous years.

To be showcased are opportunities for collaboration and partnership between the public sector and private business interests and between the private sector and academia; also, emerging opportunities from divestments by IOCs and the decarbonisation drive in the industry.