Emma Okonji
Managing Director of UK-Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, has said the climate-smart infrastructure design and development programme in Nigeria, will play a critical role as a delivery component for UK Aid.
Onyia spoke with the British Deputy High Commissioner, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 scheduled to hold in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, from November 1 to 12, 2021.
The UK Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF) is a UK Aid-funded demand-led technical assistance programme that helps the Nigerian government deliver socially inclusive, climate-smart infrastructure.
Onyia spoke with the Deputy High Commissioner on aspects of UKNIAF’s work on Energy, Infrastructure Financing, and Roads. He also discussed how the programme could support the Energy Transition Councils’ efforts to prepare Nigeria for COP26 and beyond.
The Deputy High Commissioner explained that UKNIAF remained critical to the UK-Nigeria collaboration in the Energy Transition Council, not only in preparing for COP26 but also for initiatives beyond this event.
UKNIAF supports COP26 through its work with regulators and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the energy sector, where they highlight opportunities to mitigate the challenges of the energy transition, both on-grid and off-grid. The opportunities are also matched with potential investments.
The Energy Transition Council allows UKNIAF to step up our engagement and efforts in the run-up to COP26; and beyond COP26, and the focus will be on resolving the obstacles hindering Nigeria from making the energy transition a reality.
Onyia and the Deputy High Commissioner agreed that coordination and capacity across key MDAs must be improved in the run-up to COP26 and beyond if policy objectives were to be met.
A lot of work is already being done to encourage energy transition, however, the challenges of the energy transition remain, and they must be acknowledged as both countries work to overcome them.
“At the same time, we need to factor in the upcoming Nigerian elections. The Nigerian government’s goodwill and engagement, particularly that of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and the Minister of State for Power, who also serves as the Chair of the Energy Transition Council, must be recognised, Onyia said.
Llewellyn-Jones said: “We live in a competitive world where investors are looking for a location that provides adequate return on investment. It is important, therefore, to make Nigeria as competitive as possible to attract those investments.”
