Osinbajo goes to U.S. in search of investors for Buhari regime

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo departed Abuja on Wednesday for the U.S. to seek global partnerships and support for Nigeria’s recently inaugurated Energy Transition Plan. His media aide Laolu Akande disclosed this in a statement.

Mr Osinbajo is leading Nigeria’s Energy Transition Implementation Working Group on the U.S. mission for meetings. The meetings, which start on September 1, are to promote the plan and secure global support from the U.S. government, the private sector, and other development partners.

The ETWG, which the vice president chairs, comprises relevant ministers and other top government officials. 

Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, inaugurated the previous week at a global virtual event, is a homegrown, data-backed and multi-pronged strategy developed for attaining 2060 net-zero emissions.

Their commitments are in five critical sectors: power, cooking, oil and gas, transport and industry. Nigeria needs $410 billion to deliver the Transition Plan by 2060.

Among other highlights, the plan needs at least $10 billion per annum above business-as-usual spending for effective implementation, according to the statement. At the inauguration, the World Bank and a renewable energy organisation, Sun Africa, pledged $1.5 billion each, totalling an initial $3 billion investment, to support the implementation of the transition plan.

While in the U.S., Mr Osinbajo will meet U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen, and President of World Bank Group David Malpass.

The vice president is also scheduled to speak on Nigeria’s energy transition plan at the Centre for Global Development in Washington, D.C.

The vice president’s delegation to the U.S. includes Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, Minister of Environment Mohammed Abdullahi, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and the special representative of the UN secretary-general/CEO for Sustainable Energy for All, Damilola Ogunbiyi.

Nigeria’s ambassador to the U.S., Uzoma Emenike, will join the delegation.

The vice president will return to Abuja next week.

(NAN)