The UN Resident Representative, Mr Daouda Toure, expressed this misgiving at the formal launch and signing ceremony of “Access to Renewable Energy (ARE) Project” jointly implemented in Nigeria by the United Nations and Bank of Industry (BOI).
The project execution has a time frame of 2010-2014 with a total budget of $4.8 million to be funded through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) allocation of $2 million while the remaining portion will be sourced from strategic partners such as the World Bank and the BOI.
Mr Toure stressed that reliable and accessible energy supply was central to issues of development, national security, environmental protection and serve as a tool in achieving both Vision 20-2020 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
The UN Resident Representative wondered why Nigeria with its vast energy resource potential, still depended on backup generators with high environmental and economic cost .
“Eliminating energy deprivation is thus, of paramount importance in eradicating economic poverty and is essential to the achievement of other Millennium Development Goals. If alternative and other reliable sources of energy supply could be encouraged in this country, huge savings could be realised in addition to a cleaner environment” he said.
While pledging the UN support and commitment towards ensuring access to modern energy services, he said that the UNDP would continue to explore possible ways of collaborating with relevant institutions to promote supplies of energy through alternative and renewable sources which would be pro-poor.
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