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Following a meeting between Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and his American counterpart, Vice President Kamala Harris, yesterday at the White House, both Nigeria and the United States reaffirmed their commitment to cooperating on a variety of international issues, particularly on Climate Change and the global energy transition towards net-zero emissions.
In his response to Vice President Harris’s warm welcome, Mr. Osinbajo said, “We very strongly believe that we (Nigeria and the US) will need to work together again on so many global challenges that are varied, and they come up very frequently now, from promoting peace and security to tackling global health issues and climate change, and of course, economic adversity.”
Speaking specifically about Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, Mr. Osinbajo said, “The plan is important for us because we see the climate crisis as two existential issues, the first of which is the crisis itself and the second of which is the energy poverty, which is a problem for us in our region of the world.
Therefore, even as we look forward to achieving the carbon neutrality objective by 2060, we also hope to address the issue of energy poverty by 2030.
“We look forward to even greater cooperation and deeper links between our countries in the years and months to come to create a fairer, more prosperous, possibly greener, also freer nation and nations and world,” the VP continued.
The US was then praised for adopting an innovative strategy to combat climate change, with the speaker noting, “I must also congratulate you because of the Inflation Reduction Act and again, in particular, this is historic especially for those of us who are paying attention to all the issues of Climate Change.”
The American vice president had earlier praised Mr. Osinbajo’s remarkable leadership while praising Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan.
In reference to Mr. Osinbajo’s advocacy on behalf of a just energy transition on a global scale, VP Harris noted that Mr. Osinbajo has “been an extraordinary leader on this issue and I noticed this is something you feel very strongly about and you have been very adamant about the role Nigeria is playing in addressing this crisis that face us all.”
Prior to their confidential session where they discussed bilateral matters, the US Vice President and the Vice President of Nigeria met in the White House’s Ceremonial Office and both spoke to the media.
Speaking further about America’s leadership in combating climate change, Mr. Osinbajo remarked that “we are all delighted to line up behind the US and ensure that we achieve many of these objectives.”
The Vice President informed his counterpart that Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP), which was just launched last week, is the nation’s comprehensive strategy for addressing the climate catastrophe and the country’s energy poverty.
Referring to his earlier meetings in the past few days in the US Capital at the World Bank Group, the US Treasury, and the US Agency for International Development, USAID, Vice President Osinbajo stated that Nigeria will need investment support towards the implementation of the Energy Transition Plan.
The vice president stated, “We are anxious to get all the support we can. We are excited with the replies to the Nigerian proposal so far. I have been speaking with a couple of the agencies here over the past few days, including the World Bank, USAID, and the Treasury Secretary yesterday as well. Additionally, they have all been encouraging and shown signs of being very helpful.
In a previous statement, the US Vice President expressed optimism that Nigeria would be able to meet the challenging objectives outlined in the plan, saying, “I congratulate you for your example on your Energy Transition Plan which I know pledges carbon neutral energy by 2060, an ambitious goal but important and by your leadership, I have no question that they will be achieved.”
Additionally, Vice President Osinbajo took some time to praise the long-standing goodwill between the US and Nigeria.
“The United States has been Nigeria’s longtime partner and friend. Since Nigeria’s independence, the US has been a strong backer of our aspirations, notably our goals for economic and social growth.
“We also must thank the robust support that we received from the US, particularly in our fight against terrorism within our borders and in the Sahel, and of course, the extremely timely donation of vaccinations, 4 million doses, while we battled the COVID-19 pandemic,” the vice president continued. And that was undoubtedly very helpful.
Additionally praising Nigeria’s leadership in preserving democracy in West Africa, Vice President Kamala Harris expressed hope that the general election in February of next year will be free from violence and accurately reflect the wishes of the electorate.
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