Renewable Energy Crucial to Nigeria’s Policy Direction – Speaker Abbas

By Oluwakemi Kindness

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, says Nigeria must embrace renewable energy as a key strategy for diversifying its economy.

Speaker Abbas emphasizes that “the case for renewable energy is compelling,” adding that it carries significant implications for the nation’s policy priorities.

The Speaker spoke in Lagos on Monday while declaring open the ‘First Legislative Conference and Expo on Renewable Energy in Nigeria’ organized by the House Committee on Renewable Energy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Speaker Abbas said: “The transition to renewable energy is not just an economic necessity; it holds substantial implications for national policy agendas. Renewable energy has become central to initiatives aimed at fostering inclusive economic growth, climate adaptation, and industrial innovation. Countries that have embraced this change have decreased their vulnerability to global fuel price fluctuations, improved energy access, and positioned themselves as leaders in the low-carbon economy.”

A statement by the Speaker’s Media Adviser, Musa Abdullahi Krishi, quotes Speaker Abbas as adding that renewable energy “is no longer a niche concern but a cornerstone of global development policy.

He says in 2024, renewable energy additions reached five hundred eighty-five gigawatts, accounting for over ninety-two per cent of new power generation capacity worldwide.

To make headway, the Speaker adds that robust legislation and oversight are vital in supporting any national effort at adopting and promoting renewable energy.

Earlier in his welcome remark, the chairman of the committee, Representative Victor Afam Ogene, says renewable energy, as an emerging sector in Nigeria, “has garnered significant attention from the government as a key solution to our electricity power supply issues, and deliberate steps are being taken to harness its potential.”

He adds that the growing consensus that achieving greater energy security and sustainability requires deliberate action to chart a new pathway, in reducing Nigeria’s reliance on fossil fuels as a primary source of energy.

“While we still grapple with finding the right balance between both, it is also important to point out that, paradoxically, we are yet to achieve meaningful energy sufficiency, even with our current focus on fossil fuel-based energy.”

Meanwhile, in a presentation, the UNDP Resident Representative, Elsie Attafuah, highlightes the importance of energy to Nigeria’s future, noting that it has “evolved into national security, economic power, and geopolitical leverage tool and instrument.”

She added that, “Energy is the foundation for Nigeria’s economic diversification. Without it, neither industrial transformation nor acceleration is possible,” adding that Nigeria possesses massive potential for energy transition and global power.

The event was attended by dignitaries from both within and outside Nigeria, including the governors of Abia, Enugu, Osun, all of whom were represented, as well as the First Deputy Speaker of The Ghanaian Parliament, Hon. Bernard Ahiafor, who represented the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Alban Kingsford Bagbin; the UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Elsie Attafuah, among many others.