Mainstreaming Marginalized Voices Into Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plans
By Kelvin Alohan
With Nigeria having recently launched her energy transition policy plan, this 6th edition of Extractive360’s Just Energy Transition (JET) half hour analyzed the provisions of the document in terms of its inclusivity and how well it speaks to the peculiar issues facing the Niger Delta.
Speaking on Redemption FM, Abak, Akwa Ibom State, Tijah Bolton-Akpan, Executive Director, Policy Alert, raised concerns over the viability of what was launched as the country’s energy transition policy plan while expressing dissatisfaction over the ‘emptiness’ of its content.
He noted that the policy document did not specifically address the energy deficit in the Niger Delta, nor did it address issues of divestment by oil companies neither does it have correlation with other enabling policy documents or laws relating to oil host communities, such as the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Tijah further emphasized on the capacity needs of communities which would enable them effectively contribute to just transition discourse at local, national and even global levels, and spoke of how to harness marginalized voices for mainstreaming in the nation’s energy transition journey.
The JET half hour, facilitated by Extractive360 in partnership with Spaces for Change, is part of the project ‘From Exclusion to Inclusion in National Just Transition Plan’, under the auspices of the Extractive Industry and Climate Change Governance Project. It is supported by the Ghana based Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP).
Click on the audio below to listen to the conversation.
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