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Global Energy Transition Must Be Sensitive To Africa’s Priorities -Osinbajo

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The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has said that the global energy transition must be managed in a way that is sensitive to Africa’s priorities.
In a statement, yesterday in Abuja, Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, said the vice-president spoke virtually at the 2022 Standard Bank Climate Summit themed, “Africa’s Path to Carbon Neutrality”.
Osinbajo’s focus was on how to manage the energy transition to net-zero in the context of Africa’s unique challenges, such as energy poverty.
The vice-president said that the current global energy transition was both an opportunity for the preservation of the earth, unlocking the potential and livelihoods of millions of people, especially those in developing countries.
“The current energy transition is an opportunity like none other for the preservation of the planet.
“But, it can also be a vehicle for unlocking the development potential and livelihoods of millions of people; there is no reason why we cannot have both.
“The global community must account for diverse realities and accommodate various pathways to net-zero, particularly for African nations.
“This is because they need financial and technical support as well as the flexibility to develop as swiftly as possible,” he added.
According to Osinbajo, this will ensure a fair and balanced energy transition that leaves no one behind.
The vice-president said: “How we manage the global energy transition must be sensitive to Africa’s priorities.
“The global energy transition must place energy access for both consumptive and productive uses at the heart of climate action.”
Osinbajo said that to ensure a global energy transition that was favourable, African nations needed to engage more critically and vocally on the matter.
The vice-president made reference to Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan(ETP) as a leading light.
“The value of having a nation-specific, data-driven plan as the basis of our activities and engagements cannot be overemphasised.
“The plan provides a clear financial estimate for the achievement of Nigeria’s energy access and transition goals.
“The ETP finds that an additional 10 billion dollars over business as usual is required annually till 2060 to shift the entire economy to a net-zero pathway; we hope to see more of such plans on the continent,” Osinbajo said.
He said that efforts were being made to have a pan-African position on energy transition.
Osinbajo said: “This is underway with certain countries including Nigeria developing and signing on to the Kigali Communiqué which came out of the Sustainable Energy for All Forum in June, and outlines principles for a just and equitable energy transition.
“We must take ownership of our transition pathways and design climate-sensitive strategies that address our growth objectives.
“We must clearly and thoroughly articulate our priorities, strategies and needs.
“Though Africa’s current unmet energy needs are huge, future demand will be even greater as populations expand, people move into the middle class and rapid urbanisation continues.”
The vice-president recalled that in 2020, Sub-Saharan Africa had 568 million people without access to electricity.
Osinbajo said that the aforementioned represented more than three-quarters of the world’s total un-electrified population.
According to him, most developed nations have 100per cent energy access.
The vice-president said: “Surely, the race to net-zero must not leave people in the dark.
“Also, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the only region in which the number of people without access to clean cooking fuels and technologies is rising.
“19 of the 20 countries with lowest clean cooking access rates are in Africa.
“Limiting the development of gas projects, as a critical energy transition pathway for Africa, violates enshrined principles of equity and justice.
“It also poses dire challenges for African nations while making an insignificant dent in global emissions.”
Osinbajo said Africa had contributed the least of any global region to greenhouse gas emissions and currently emits under 4 per cent of global emissions.
The vice president said that under no plausible scenario were Africa’s emissions a threat to global climate targets.
“Unfounded predictions should not serve as excuses to limit our energy technology options.
“Limiting financing of gas projects for domestic use in Africa would pose a severe challenge to the pace of economic development, delivery of electricity access and clean cooking solutions, and the scale-up and integration of renewable energy into the energy mix,” he added.
On financing energy transition, Osinbajo said a balanced and just approach to the energy transition recognised that finance was key.
He said that lack of access to finance remained the biggest challenge for accelerating action on energy access and climate goals in Africa.
The vice-president restated the call on developed countries to bridge the disparity in energy investments.
“Of the $2.8trillion invested in renewable energy from 2000 to 2020, only about 2per cent, $60billion came to Africa.
“It has been estimated by the International Energy Agency that Africa will need around $133billion annually in clean energy investment to meet our energy and climate goals between 2026 and 2030,’’ he said.
The Standard Bank Group, which hosted the event, had committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions from its own operations for newly built facilities by 2030.
The group also said it would be targeting net zero emissions for existing facilities by 2040, and from its portfolio of financed emissions by 2050.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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