Speaking while paying the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a courtesy visit in Abuja recently, the National President of NAEE, Prof. Wumi Illedare, said most oil-rich countries that avoided the resource curse succeeded in treating their oil and gas resource as sources of energy to drive their development initiatives.
He explained: “Energy, by global consensus, is the bedrock for economic development of any nation. Treating oil and gas resources primarily as sources of energy tend to promote economic growth and development faster than treating oil and gas resources as an income or revenue sources. The latter approach tends to encourage income redistribution and transfer payments with impact on sustainable economic development thereby heightening the resources curse phenomenon. Thus, the way forward for Nigeria given the prevailing oil price decline is what prompt the theme for the 9th NAEE/IAEE international conference ‘energizing emerging economies: The role of natural gas and renewable energy’. The conference is poised to discuss the energy supply options for energizing emerging economy like Nigeria.”
He added that NAEE is a platform for all the stakeholders in the energy sector within academics, government and industry operators and energy professionals to exchange ideas and share experiences.
“The association, since its inception in Nigeria has hosted eight conferences with notable keynote speakers and panelists from governmental agencies, oil/energy companies, regulatory commissions/agencies and tertiary institutions. Through its conferences, NAEE provides a forum for the exchange of ideas, advancement and professional experience in Energy Economics; promote the development education of Energy professionals; fosters and improves understanding of energy economics and energy-related issues by all interested parties; and provides forum for contribution to national discourse on energy policy problems and issues in Nigeria and Africa, “Illedare stated.
In his response, the Vice President, who thanked the association for considering him worthy of being the Special Guest at the forthcoming NAEE conference, lauded the relevance of NAEE to the development of the country at a time when Nigeria needs all the professionals it can get to move its economy forward.
He said: “The associated regulation in the energy sector demands a lot of expertise in order to deal with our peculiar challenges. And I daresay that your roles are important in providing our country with the needed direction.”
The Vice President submitted that it is important for NAEE to come up with informed contributions to energy debates adding that as a strategic partner in the process of advancing the goals of energy efficiency, “you should make your presence felt for the good of our great country.”
