Osinbajo meets Siemens officials on energy transition

• Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the Federal Government looks forward to partnering with energy companies and other key stakeholders around the world in delivering its Energy Transition Plan(ETP). Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Saturday in Abuja,  said the vice president received a delegation from Siemens Energy led by its Chief Executive Officer, Christian Bruch, at the Presidential Villa. According to the vice president, Siemens Energy has shown itself to be a good partner with the Presidential Power Initiative. He  reaffirmed that gas would be necessary for Nigeria’s transition. “And a lot more can be achieved if we work together with the groups and teams we have already, to take this forward. We have gas and it is not just an answer for power, but also for clean cooking. Clean cooking is a major component of our National Development Contributions and we are trying to transit from rural areas where kerosene is used, where firewood is used to Liquified Petroleum Gas(LPG).”

Osinbajo said that besides technical discussions in implementing the plan, there was need for political discussions. According to him, such discussions are why COP-27 is important. ”For African countries, we have the Kigali Communique which addressed many of the important issues for us. One of the important issues is that energy access is key. We can’t talk about net-zero by 2060 without addressing the fundamental question of energy access for millions of our people who don’t have access. This is tied to poverty and development.” Osinbajo acknowledged that Siemens Energy’s expertise and technology would be helpful in the process Nigeria was undergoing.

“We look forward to collaborating with Siemens and your cooperation would be appreciated.” he said. In his remarks, Bruch sought to work with Nigeria on the ETP and applauded the vice president’s role in championing plan. He said that Siemens Energy was fully committed to supporting Nigeria’s discussion on energy transition. Bruch added  added that the company had a lot of technology to bring to the table with around 26,000 patents around technology. Energy transition is a relatively complex matter which combines affordability, sustainability and security of supply. We have learnt that every region and every country must have a different plan because conditions are different.” Diversity in the plan is required, also diversity of solutions.

“There is no silver bullet to drive the energy transition; it requires people coming together to discuss plans and solutions,” he said. Other members of the delegation included the Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar  Aliyu,  Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Yusuf Tuggar and the Director-General, Climate Change Council, Dr Salisu Dahiru. From Siemens’ Energy, Ms Nadja Haakansson, Managing Director for Siemens Energy Hub Africa, Seun Sulieman, Managing Director for Siemens Energy Nigeria, Sean Manley, Project Director for the Presidential Power Initiative as well as other top executives.