By Chesa Chesa
Nigeria has has held talks with relevant United States (US) officials on exploring opportunitiesl to leverage its vast marine resources and attract new green-focused partnerships and investments in its seaports and shipping corridors.
Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action (SPEC), Ajuri Ngelale, in an update of his official activities on Friday, disclosed that he held virtual deliberations with officials from the US Department of Energy and the State Department maritime prospects.
According to Ngelale, the discussions aimed to identify potential areas of collaboration between Nigeria and the US in developing sustainable shipping practices and reducing carbon emissions in the maritime sector.
He described the opportunity as “amazing” for Nigeria to “do good and do well at the same time,” indicating the potential for economic benefits while promoting environmental sustainability.
Ngelale said that “on Friday evening, I deliberated virtually with officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. State Department concerning Nigeria’s push to leverage on its vast marine resources to attract new green-focused partnerships and investments in our seaports and shipping corridors. It is an amazing opportunity for Nigeria to do good and do well at the same time”.
Ngelale began the day with a briefing from Dr. Nkiruka Maduekwe, Director-General/CEO of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), to discuss ongoing activities and strategies.
He then joined a virtual call with Oando Clean Energy’s Executive Management team, praising their groundbreaking work in scaling up investments in renewable energy systems.
Ngelale assured Oando of his support, citing their focused attention on R&D and willingness to take calculated risks.
”After arriving in Abuja at 6am on Friday morning, a quick stop at home enabled me to begin my day early with sustained momentum beginning with an 8am briefing from the Director-General/CEO of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Dr. Nkiruka Maduekwe. There never seems to be enough time to run through all of the activities taking place, but it was a much needed and fruitful discussion.
“Later in the afternoon, I joined a virtual call with the Executive Management team of Oando Clean Energy and we discussed the groundbreaking work they are doing to scale up tangible and – over time – very valuable investments in renewable energy systems.
“The combination of Oando’s focused attention on R&D and sustained study of prospective clean energy investment opportunities with the willingness to take calculated risks is setting up to be a major boon for their organization, but also for the Nigerian economy as a whole.
“They will be given all the relationship support we can muster based on the merit of their organizational vision and wide-ranging activities,” he said.
