From INIOBONG SUNDAY, Uyo
Senator Yunusa Abiodun, representing Oyo Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, has expressed concern over the prevailing energy crisis plaguing the system, blaming lack of political will to enforce appropriate policy frameworks behind what he described as energy poverty in the country.
He argued that if such frameworks were not put in place, the challenges of poor energy output would continue to ravage the rural communities and lock down their development potentials across generations.
Senator Abiodun, made the assertion over the weekend while delivering the second in the series of the Vice- Chancellor, VC, of University of Uyo, UNIUYO, Prof. Nyaudoh Ndaeyo’s Public Lecture held at the 1,000 – capacity TetFund Auditorium of the institution, under the theme; Addressing Energy Poverty in Nigeria: Insights and Implementations for Rural Areas”.
The lawmaker, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment, therefore, warned that if this postulation was not considered, “people would naturally resort to crude use of biomass fuel, thereby resulting to deforestation, exposure to unclean indoor air and other environmental and health hazards that kill the world’s poor through pneumonia, stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.”
“If appropriate policy framework are not put in place, the challenges of energy poverty will continue to ravage the rural the rural communities and lock down their development potentials across generations.
“This is because people will naturally resort to the crude use of biomass fuel which would eventually lead to deforestation, exposure to unclean indoor air and other environmental and health hazards that may result from noise generated from power generating sets and green house gases
“The burning of solid fuel fills the houses and huts in poorer rural communities with smokes that kills the world’s poor by causing pneumonia, stroke. heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. The solid fuels responsible for this unwholesome experience include wood, crop residues, dung, charcoal, and coal.
“The solution to this is not far-fetched: a shift from solid fuels to modern energy sources. A major reason for Nigeria’s seemingly intractable energy poverty is it reliance on non-renewable energy sources and non-utilisation of the abundantly available renewable sources.
“Thus, given the magnitude of energy poverty in Nigeria, adequate step should be taken to give the average Nigerian access to modern energy sources,” he stressed.
