Worries over Nigeria’s continuous dependence on fossil fuels

Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) and the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), through its Natural Resource and Extractives Programme (NAREP) have stressed the need for Nigeria to urgently diversify its economy to avert looming challenges.

Speaking at a hybrid workshop organised for media and Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria, Senior Officer, NRGI, Tengi George-Ikoli, said Nigeria is at a critical point in its development, adding that as a fossil fuel dependent country, it is important that Nigeria develops its own strategy to engage the shifting global focus away from oil.

According to her, “Nigeria must develop its own medium to long term strategy to mitigate the likely export and government revenue losses from a shrinking market base as these countries look to reduce oil reliance beyond 2030.”

Tengi said Nigeria must make strategic decisions in the way it spends its limited revenues, take economic diversification more seriously, leverage regional and global opportunities beyond oil and include new frontier possibilities available in the green economy.

Also, the Acting Executive Director at CJID, Tobi Oluwatola, reiterates the need for capacity building for the media and the CSOs, noting that they are in the best position to enlighten the public from an informed perspective.

He said: “It is time for Civil Society Organisations, journalists, and policy experts to have this discussion, most especially as Nigeria plans to achieve net zero by 2060. There is a need for CSOs to be empowered with the right skills to be able to do the right advocacy and accountability work in Nigeria”.

The workshop, themed; “Oil Dependency in Nigeria: Imagining a Future Beyond Oil”, was geared towards improving the understanding of oil dependency and the nexus with energy transition to better communicate the impact on Nigeria and the Nigerian economy.

In his final remarks, Deputy Director, Development Practice, CJID, Akintunde Babatunde, emphasised that as energy transition persists globally, Nigeria as a monolithic fossil fuel dependent economy has to prepare for what the shift to cleaner energy sources means for its economy.

“Data is pointing us to the fact that Nigeria will likely lose a majority of its foreign exchange earnings and revenues for both the federal and subnational government, In fact, it is already happening, because Nigeria is at a critical point in its development process. It is important for professionals to discuss the way forward on how the decisions we make as a country are more important now than ever.”

An officer with Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action), Precious Charles, said the workshop provided an avenue “for media and CSOs to improve reporting procedures by not only looking at the extent of dependence but also the indicators of government interest and reporting points”.

She added: “A lot of the issues raised really challenged journalists on how to write well-detailed articles that will challenge the policymakers to make the right decisions. We need to continue advocating for the decarbonisation of the energy sector and push Nigeria into the age of energy transition”.