On June 24, 2023, Prof. Okawale Ajibola urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to adopt exploration of the huge coal deposits of the country for power generation. He affirmed that this act will help achievement of energy sufficiency during the gradual transition to clean energy sources. This observations were made at the third annual conference of the Society of Energy Administrations of Nigeria (SEA) in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. Through a presentation of slides, statistics were given and qualities were highlighted in the coal belts of the nation.
At the conference, the Director of the National Center for Energy Efficiency and Conservation, University of Lagos described the medium through which there could be power generation from other energy sources. He emphasized the need for utilization of the nation’s massive coal deposits before adopting alternatives of clean energy, just like other developed economies. He added that countries like South Africa, America, UK, Germany and Japan derive 70 percent of their electricity from coal, advising that Nigeria also tries it out.
2023 Electricity Law enables everyone to generate power.
Calling on Nigerians and all levels of government, the guest speaker advised declaration of war against power failure and commencement of electricity generation to ensure energy sufficiency within the country. Stakeholders were urged to leverage enabling environment established by the newly signed 2023 Electricity Law which grants empowerment to everyone for power generation. Extraction of energy requires engineering and conservation of the environment to ensure that the best practices are applied — all these were tabled at the conference.
It was emphasized that religious tackling of power failure will breed success, if there is a collaboration amongst all Nigerians. The recently signed law states that generation of electricity can be done by individuals, companies, local governments and states. Prof. Ajibola noted that there are opportunities of less expensive electricity from coal which should not be overlooked, even as the gradually enabled adoption of gas. They stated that developed countries advised that Nigeria stops usage of fossil fuels which also have coal in them, while they make use of them.
Usage of coal has negative impacts in the atmosphere.
Another guest speaker at the third annual SEA conference, Benjamin Abamba, Head of Lead Carbon Reduction in NNPCL, disagreed with Prof. Ajibola, giving reasons why carbon dioxide has a negative impacts in the atmosphere and should be eradicated through photosynthesis. He stated that decarbonizing the atmosphere can be done through planting of trees and reforestation. He also called for political will from all tiers of government, using the tree planting initiative founded by Mr. Babatunde Fashola, former Governor of Lagos State, but was not continued by his predecessors.
President of the Society of Energy Administrations (SEA), Dr. Babatunde Adeboye, in his opening speech, emphasized the need for safety building into every stage of projects from inception to post construction. The Project Director of SEA in Nigeria enumerated ways to ensure prevention of losses and the rules that guide preventive and corrective maintenance. He further highlighted the efforts of SEA towards enabling enforcement of standards in every sector of the country. The conference also saw the induction of new members and absorption of Lagos State University graduate members.
President Tinubu was commended for the newly signed Electricity Law.
Oluwaseun Olukoya, Lagos State Coordinator of SEA, said that this year’s conference addressed the realities which provides opportunities for supply of improved electricity. Chairman of Planning Committee for the 2023 SEA conference, Olukoya, while applauding President Bola Tinubu for signing the Electricity bill into law, stated that the price for energy will reduce with competition. Worthy industry players in shipping, construction, transport logistics, oil and gas sectors received awards for complying to standards of health, safety and environment.
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