By Stephen Adeleye
President Bola Tinubu’s continuous support for more investment in the renewable energy development in the country has been reiterated.
Abdullahi Yakassai, Special Assistants to the President on Community Engagement, disclosed this during the Presidential Renewed Hope Media Tour’s visit in Lokoja.
The media team, led by Mr Sunday Dare, was at the Confluence University of Science and Technology in Osara, Kogi on Sunday to inspect projects by the Federal and State Governments.
Yakassai said that Tinubu’s commitment represented a national investment in renewable energy development, human capital empowerment, clean energy innovation, and Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan.
The institution houses the Barefoot Renewable Energy College (BREC) and the Green Hydrogen Research and Demonstration Pilot Plant of the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN).
“It aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through its focus on job creation, economic diversification, energy access, poverty reduction, and sustainable development,” Yakassai said.
Also, Mr O’tega Ogra, Senior Special Assistant to President on Digital Engagement, Strategy, and New Media, said that the project is one of the youths empowerment programmes of the President.
“The College is designed to provide practical renewable energy training to Nigerians regardless of their educational background, equipping them with hands on skills in solar and other renewable energy technologies.
“The initiative promotes self reliance, entrepreneurship, employment generation, and rural development while building the skilled workforce required to support Nigeria’s growing renewable energy sector,” Ogra said.
He said that the Green Hydrogen Research and Demonstration Pilot Plant is aimed at diversifying Nigeria’s energy mix, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and advancing clean energy solutions.
He said that the facility would test decentralised hydrogen systems as a reliable and environmentally friendly alternative to diesel generators, particularly in areas with unstable electricity supply.
Ogra said that the complex is also expected to support Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a leading hydrogen hub in Africa by promoting research, innovation, and local capacity development in hydrogen technologies.
He added that the project would support Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan and the national target of achieving Net Zero emissions by 2060.
“Hydrogen is expected to play a critical role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions within the industrial, transportation, and power sectors.
“The commissioning of this Complex will symbolize Nigeria’s commitment to innovation, energy security, environmental sustainability, and the development of indigenous capacity for a prosperous future.”
The (BREC) is a grassroots training facility launched in August 2024 by the ECN, it aims to equip rural and urban Nigerians with practical, hands-on skills in solar engineering and sustainable energy solutions.
Green Hydrogen Research and Demonstration Pilot Plant is Nigeria’s pioneering Green Hydrogen Research and Demonstration Pilot Plant.
It is the first of its kind in both Nigeria and West Africa and marks a significant step in the nation’s energy transition, aiming to revolutionise the energy sector and improve local food production.
The Renewed Hope National Media Tour forms part of the efforts to provide Nigerians with firsthand information about projects being implemented under Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
It also aims to highlight the impact of the government’s interventions on citizens’ lives across the country.
Dare, at the end of visit to the institution, said the two projects were part of the President’s overall educational and youths empowerment programmes and policies.
He said that machineries for the take-off of the Barefoot Renewable Energy College are already on ground for installation.
Mr Abdulsalami Ozigi, Kogi Commissioner for Works, said the two projects as well as the expansions in the institution was a direct outcome of the opening-up of the financial space of the administration.
He said that the road construction also ongoing at the Lokoja-Auchi road was due to the good collaboration of the Federal and State Governments.
“We uave been lucky in Kogi State that Mr President has decided to listen to the core need of our people in terms of road construction. It is a major lifeline of any economy,” he said. (NAN)
Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz