Vice President Kashim Shettima has disclosed that discussions are currently underway with private investors to commit nearly $60 million to electrify Onne Port and transform it into Nigeria’s first green port.
The vice president also assured that Nigeria would soon phase out diesel dependency and cut carbon emissions through the nation’s integrated hybrid energy system.
Equally, Shettima has charged members of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) to conduct all transactions with the highest regard for public interest, stressing the need for transparency, accountability, and legal due diligence in Nigeria’s privatisation process.
The vice president, who disclosed the move at Onne Port on Wednesday, while declaring open the Decarbonising Infrastructure in Nigeria Summit (DIN SUMMIT) in Abuja, warned that Nigeria would struggle to compete or catch up with the world if the nation’s climate dreams do not align with its development realities.
He said while the truth about the nation’s climate question was that Nigeria could no longer build yesterday’s infrastructure for tomorrow, climate action has now become an economic necessity and not a luxury.
According to him: “Onne Port, for instance, is already emerging as the template for our quest to breathe life into a robust green economy.
Discussions are currently underway with private investors to commit nearly $60 million to electrify the port and transform it into Nigeria’s first green port.
“This is a strategic leap. Through an integrated hybrid energy system, we will phase out diesel dependency, slash carbon emissions, and provide 24/7 sustainable and affordable power to terminal operators and port users.
“This summit is inspired by the awareness that we can no longer afford to treat sustainability and profitability as two separate pursuits.
“This is a product of months of consultations, regional dialogues, and technical deep dives. That is why it reflects our belief that the path to net-zero by 2060 must be paved with concrete action, not convenient rhetoric.
“Our Energy Transition Plan and Climate Change Act have together created a roadmap that is both visionary and pragmatic.”
Shettima explained that 75 percent of Nigeria’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the infrastructure sector, including energy, transport, urban development, and agriculture.
These sectors, according to him, were not just carbon-heavy but also form the nation’s economic arteries, especially agriculture, which supports 70 percent of rural livelihoods.
The vice president observed that while the staggering figures are a wake-up call for a nation that figures them out, the only way of the, “predicted doom is to decarbonise these systems,” adding that the target is to build a Nigeria with infrastructure that heals, and not one that harms.
