Nebo suggests adoption of solar energy by Africa Nigeria gets 1.3tr revenue from tourism
The Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, has advised that African countries should adopt the use of solar energy as their major source of power generation.
Nebo made the call at the Ministerial Consultation on Energy in Africa at the ongoing African Union and Ministers of Economy and Finance Summit in Abuja, on Friday.
He said Africa has huge deposits of mineral resources such as gas, wind, coal, among others, for energy development, adding that solar energy, which is also in abundance in the region, should not be neglected.
He said: “Solar power can give us 10 times or more to the other resources we already have. I don’t believe that solar generated energy is too expensive. In the next couple of years, it will get parity with gas and coal. The only problem is with storage. But the flood of solar in the region cannot be stopped.”
Mr Adama Deen, Head of Infrastructure, New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) said 80 to 90 percent of power supply for industrial purpose may be problematic to achieve.
He said that NEPAD has in its project targeted 60 percent energy supply on the continent by 2040, calling for capacity building.
Mr Joseph Habineza, Rwandan High Commissioner in Nigeria, said governments needed private sector involvement to finance power projects.
Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala, called for specific skills to ensure that Africa benefited from the projects. Statistics on Nigeria, based on the latest World Travel and Tourism Council’s annual data base, valued the tourism industry’s contribution to GDP at approximately N 1.3 trillion.
According to the data, the industry accounted for 3% of total GDP, with a 2.6%, and created a total of 1,636,500 jobs.
This information was contained in a keynote address delivered by the Director General of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporations (NTDC) Mrs. Sally Mbanefor at the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) conference held in Abuja.
She said that GDP and employment factors are expected to grow at an annual rate of 6.8% and 4.3% respectively.
She said that the domestic tourism market has very high revenue and job creation potentials, urging Nigerians to embrace it.