Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has announced plans to invest in solar power, in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals to address climate change issues in the country.
Ogbuku spoke when a delegation from the Asteven International Company made a presentation on Renewable Energy and Carbon Credit at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
The NDDC boss further explained the Commission’s collaboration with a US-based firm and its compliance with the National Council of Climate Change, demonstrating their dedication to climate-related matters.
He said, “Our target is that every community in the Niger Delta region will be powered by solar; which is renewable and a cheap form of energy. In addition to this, we shall create industrial clusters to be powered by solar which will help in improving the agricultural value chain.
“Solar power has the dual benefit of helping people with projects and building carbon credits. We expect to recover the carbon credits we have garnered so far. Such recovered funds can be reinvested,” Dr. Ogbuku noted, highlighting the potential for environmental regeneration, particularly mangrove restoration.”
Earlier, he Executive Director of Asteven Group, Prof. Magnus Onuoha, during his presentation, highlighted assured the Commission of their assistance in monetising carbon credits and unlocking a substantial $2 billion carbon investment potential in the Niger Delta region.
Onuoha, underscored the centrality of the Niger Delta in the international climate change discourse and urged NDDC to actively engage experts for climate finance and technology support.
He emphasized the importance of climate justice for sustainable development in the region.
For his part, the President, Council on Renewable Energy, Dr. Sunny Akpoyibo, urged NDDC to work towards getting returns on sustainable development, saying that the Commission needs to unlock trapped values in its projects.
