Stakeholders Call For Community-Centred Energy Transition Programmes

For the energy transition to take its course, stakeholders have called for the involvement of oil-rich communities in the green economy.
They made the call at the recent launch of a report by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Lagos.
The report titled, ‘From Exclusion to Inclusion in National Just Transition Plans’ was jointly launched by Spaces for Change (S4C), Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC) and Extractives 360 (E360).
The report was launched on the heels of Nigeria’s energy transition plan — a major pathway in achieving universal energy access by 2030 and a carbon-neutral economy by 2060.
A former Rivers State
commissioner for energy and natural resources, Peter Medee said corruption “needs to be dealt with for us to transit ably”.
Medee said it was impor
tant for the local governments (LGs) and state governments to parley on the appropriate way to transition.
He said some state governments as well as LGs — who should be championing the movement for energy transition — are unconcerned about the issue.
“So, I think that more sensitisation needs to be done, not just to state governments – but even local governments,” Mendee said.
“What is my local government doing today in this transition? Does my local government chairman even know about energy transition — how to transit from what he has to what he does not have?”
He also urged the government to develop a curriculum in tertiary institutions — especially the study of renewables — to align with energy transition goals.