The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Council has ignited a united call for bold action toward a cleaner, more secure energy future, as it wrapped up the 2025 Nigeria Annual International Conference & Exhibition (NAICE).
Over 2,000 delegates, 100+ exhibitors, and top industry minds from around the world converged on the Lagos Eko Hotels Convention Centre, sharing breakthrough research, unveiling cutting-edge technologies, and charting strategies to meet the planet’s surging energy needs without compromising environmental and economic sustainability.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Dr Ekperikpe Ekpo, with other delegates at the opening of NAICE 2025 in Lagos
The theme, “Building a Sustainable Energy Future: Leveraging Technology, Supply Chain, Human Resources, and Policy,” underscored the urgency of a comprehensive approach to long-term energy security, environmental stewardship, and inclusive growth.
“Through innovation, resilient supply chains, skilled talent, and forward-thinking policy, we can ensure a cleaner and brighter energy future for generations to come,” said Dr. Amina Danmadami, 2025 SPE Nigeria Council Chair.
The conference highlights included a Topical Issues Workshop on “Reforms and Sustainability of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry,” high-level plenary sessions on the four thematic pillars, and targeted programmes for Women in Energy, Young Professionals (YP), Students, and Families, reflecting SPE’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Thirteen hybrid professional training courses and a lively African Young Professionals “YP Away Day” preceded the main event.
At the heart of NAICE, the technical programme delivered cutting-edge research vetted through a double-blind peer review, with all accepted papers to be published on the international SPE OnePetro platform. On the exhibition floor, attendees explored innovations spanning the exploration and production value chain, renewables, and non-energy services, with opportunities for investment and collaboration.
“Our technical programme and exhibition floor showcased the very best of global ingenuity, rigorously reviewed research, groundbreaking technologies, and cross-sector collaborations. This is where the next chapter of Africa’s energy story is being written, and it is one of resilience, inclusivity, and opportunity,” said Danmadami.
Looking ahead, NAICE 2026 will be held August 3–5, themed “Thriving in the Evolving Global Energy Landscape: Collaborative Growth and Resilience”, with training courses on August 1–2.
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is the world’s foremost professional association for petroleum industry practitioners, connecting a global community of engineers, scientists, and energy professionals to advance safe, secure, and sustainable energy development.
The immortalised words of Philippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, “kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan,” rang true on Monday, August 11, as around 200 young people gathered at De La Salle University to celebrate International Youth Day 2025. The event highlighted the crucial role of the youth in addressing environmental challenges and promoting sustainable development.
Titled “Mobilise & Ignite Youth Action: Advancing Sustainable Solutions for the Triple Planetary Crisis Through Innovation and Partnership,” the event was organised by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) Country Office in the Philippines, together with environmental groups Clean Air Asia and BAN Toxics.
International Youth Day 2025 celebration in the Philippines
“Young people are experiencing firsthand the impacts of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Now, more than ever, we need the younger generation, as both inheritors and architects of the future, to be aware and take a decisive position in steering the world toward a more sustainable path through innovative solutions to decouple environmental degradation from economic growth,” said Teddy Monroy, UNIDO Country Representative.
Several activities filled the event, including interactive social media action zones where participants created content to share their stories, commitments, and calls to action with a wider online audience. Short videos produced during the event were also entered into an online contest titled Your Reel, Your Role: Be the Solution!
One of the main highlights is “Youth Talks”, which showcased inspiring stories of youth-led initiatives creating positive change in their communities. The session featured two speakers: Mr. Ramyr Angeles, co-founder of Mobility Vision+, a digital solution for smart and sustainable urban mobility; and John Sherwin Felix, a food heritage photographer and researcher who uses social media to raise awareness on food biodiversity and environmental issues. Participants engaged with the speakers through “Voices Unplugged”, a segment that used digital tools to collect questions and feedback.
Another major component of the event was a set of two workshops called “Solutions Lab”, which centred on UNIDO projects funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF): Accelerating the Adoption and Scale-Up of Electric Mobility for Low-Carbon City Development in the Philippines (e-mobility ASAP), a project that promotes electric mobility as a key solution for sustainable urban transport, with Clean Air Asia as one of its implementing partners; and the Philippine Healthcare and Mercury Wastes Management Project, implemented by the DENR–Environmental Management Bureau (DENR–EMB), with BAN Toxics serving as the executing partner.
“Solutions Lab 1: Harnessing the Potential of Youth in Promoting and Advancing E-mobility” explored how the youth can enter and shape the electric mobility sector through education, research, and career-building opportunities. Featuring inputs from both industry and academe, the workshop highlighted diverse pathways into the sector to equip the participants with the insights and inspiration to take an active role in shaping the future of sustainable transport.
“The e-mobility ASAP Project is helping build the country’s workforce for the future, harnessing the potential of electric vehicles to create opportunities for skills development, new professions, and thriving industries. We recognise the leadership and ingenuity of young people as the engineers, technicians, designers, researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and innovators who will shape a cleaner and more sustainable transport future,” said Atty. Glynda Bathan-Baterina, Deputy Executive Director of Clean Air Asia.
“Solutions Lab 2: Mobilising Youth for Healthcare Waste Awareness” empowered participants to dive into the pressing issue of healthcare waste and its impact on both human health and the environment. The workshop challenged them to think creatively about how to spark public awareness. By the end of the session, participants developed their own key messages and campaign calls, and brought them to life through TikTok-style short videos that reflected their voice, creativity, and commitment to advocacy.
“Healthcare waste management is a growing concern in the country, as improper handling can release hazardous substances that threaten both the environment and public health. Burning healthcare waste, for instance, can release dangerous pollutants like dioxins and furans. The youth, with their creativity and energy, can help raise awareness by informing the public that simple actions like waste segregation and reducing single-use plastics in healthcare facilities, among others, can make a real difference,” said Reynaldo San Juan Jr., BAN Toxics Executive Director.
The Solutions Labs also marked the launch of two new youth-focused initiatives: the “E-Mobility Idea Competition” and “#GenZeroPh”.
The E-Mobility Idea Competition invites youth aged 18–24 to pitch innovative solutions to accelerate electric mobility in the Philippines. Top entries will be featured at the 2025 Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit, with the grand winner earning a study tour and a presentation slot at the 2026 Better Air Quality Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
“With the Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy paving the way for a robust local EV industry, we count on our youth to bring the innovation and drive that will sustain this transformation. They are not just future beneficiaries of e-mobility, they are its present-day builders,” said Corazon Halili-Dichosa, Executive Director, Board of Investments.
Meanwhile, #GenZeroPh, is a campaign initiative aimed at engaging youth organisations and institutions in leading awareness campaigns and community-based actions that promote environmental responsibility and nurture a generation of informed, empowered advocates for a toxics-free and waste-free future.
The celebration concluded with a youth pact ceremony where participants selected ribbons with corresponding Sustainable Development Goals and tied them to an SDG tree—a symbolic installation representing collective commitment. They then placed their pre-written pledges into a jar, symbolizing a capsule of commitment.
“The 2025 UN Sustainable Development Goals Report reveals that only 35% of targets are on track or making moderate progress, while nearly half are moving too slowly. To address the triple planetary crisis, accelerating action on key goals such as SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13: Climate Action, SDG 14: Life Below Water, and SDG 15: Life on Land, , and SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals is essential. Young people must be at the forefront of these efforts as leaders, innovators, and partners in driving the systemic changes needed to secure a sustainable future,” Monroy concluded.
Bird populations in the tropics have dropped by roughly a third (25-38 percent) since 1980 due to intensifying heat extremes, compared to a world without climate change, with some species having declined in abundance by over 50 percent, according to new study published on Monday, August 11, 2025, in Nature Ecology and Evolution with contributions from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), the University of Queensland and Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC).
“It’s a staggering decrease. Birds are particularly sensitive to dehydration and heat stress. Extreme heat drives excess mortality, reduced fertility, changing breeding behaviours and reduced offspring survival,” commented lead author, Maximilian Kotz, a guest researcher at PIK and researcher at BSC.
Tropical birds
According to the study, tropical birds are exposed to 10 times the extreme heat conditions today than they were 40 years ago: from an average of three days a year of extreme heat, to 30 days.
The study combines observed data with models to identify the effects of climate change on bird populations around the world – with a focus on heat and precipitation. The biggest drops in numbers were in the tropics, but nearly every region reported a loss of population abundance, with extreme heat having the greatest impact on population declines.
“Rising temperatures are really pushing species out of the ranges that they’ve naturally adapted to – and in a very short amount of time,” Kotz added.
Climate change a rising threat to biodiversity
To date, it’s been challenging to distinguish climate change’s impact on biodiversity from the losses due to more direct human pressures such as deforestation. The research team’s methods were able to do so and indicated that in lower-latitude tropical regions, intensifying heat extremes are already having a bigger impact on bird population loss than deforestation and habitat destruction.
This potentially helps to explain recent findings from undisturbed tropical rainforests in the Amazon and in Panama, where large declines in birds were observed without a clear cause.
“On the conservation side, this work tells us that, in addition to protected areas and stopping deforestation, we urgently need to look into strategies for species who are more vulnerable to heat extremes to maximise their adaptation potential. That might mean ex-situ conservation work – so working with some populations in other locations,” said co-author Tatsuya Amano from the University of Queensland.
“Ultimately, our emissions are at the heart of this issue. We need to be bringing them down as fast as possible,” concluded Kotz.
Open defecation is a notable public health concern and threat to ecological balance, particularly in areas with inadequate sanitation infrastructure. In Oyo state, open defecation is still a significant public health issue with over half the population reportedly practicing it.
On June 5, 2025, in celebration of the World Environment Day (WED), communities around the globe came together to raise awareness about pressing environmental issues. From rallies to tree-planting initiatives, people are taking action to protect the planet.
Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State
In the ancient city of Ibadan, residents have also used the WED and every other opportunity to speak on open defecation as the most pressing environmental issue affecting their communities.
Thus, residents are calling for necessary intervention from the government and appropriate stakeholders.
Residents of Iyana barracks, Ojoo in Ibadan, have also used this medium to speak on open defecation as the most pressing environmental issue affecting them, calling for necessary intervention from the appropriate quarters.
In an interview with the deputy park chairman of Iyana barrack garage, Mr. Awoyera Moses, he called on government to curb open defecation, stressing that the case of some homeless children loitering around should also be looked into.
According to him, it will be a great initiative if the government can provide them with public toilets.
He said, “Sometimes when our passengers want to ease themselves, they have to start entering bush no matter how far. After closing hour, people easily come here to dump their faeces. We also need light here. It will be great if we can be provided with solar so we can easily catch these perpetrators. Under this bridge, there are some homeless children loitering around doing the unspeakable, we call on government’s intervention. We are tired of chasing them away.”
A commuter, Mr. Mukaila Ajamajama, emphasised the need to erect public toilets across the state.
He said, “Open defecation is a terrible thing. sometimes when we get here in the morning, all the houses up here on the rock have no toilets, and they would have littered our park with faeces before morning. We will be the ones to start cleaning up; meanwhile we can easily contact diseases from doing that.
“This very space we are right now, if not for our constant monitoring, no one would be able to pass here without coming in contact with faeces or covering his or her nose. But because of our sanitations, the smell has reduced. We therefore appeal to the government to make it mandatory for all the houses without toilets to build one and also provide public toilets for public use so that environmental law can take its cause on offenders.”
One of the park executives, Mr. Olusola Show-Labor, expressed displeasure on open defecation, narrating the ordeal they’ve gone through into curbing the menace.
According to him, open defecation has cause harm to many people. Sometimes, when passers- bye throw out their faeces, people can contact different diseases like cholera and other diseases.
“We do not really see people who defecate openly, but at night when there is no one looking, especially people who have no toilets at home, they start throwing their faeces everywhere and we see faeces littered everywhere in the morning,” he said.
He also appealed to the Oyo State Government to help erect public toilets in open spaces like theirs to prevent them from contacting diseases.
An environmental expert, Mr. Gbenga Oloniniran, gave an insight on the harm and impact of open defection to public health.
Speaking on the menace, he said open defecation threatens the environment. On one hand, offensive product from those kinds of acts actually inconvenient the public or other users of those places whether they are passing by.
Speaking further, he said there are road users who try to cross the road and when they come across the faeces or urines by some persons who have engaged in open defecation practice, they are offended, so in the process of releasing offensive odour to the environment, it is an environmental violation. From that angle, open defecation threatens the comfort of other persons in the environment.
“It is also not safe for people who engage in this practices, some persons go as far as entering the bush to defecate, that kind of act can also harm them in the sense that they are a lot of things in the bush like reptiles and scorpions, and as much as we don’t pray for bad thing, it is also important to take precautions so you don’t fall victim.”
Oloniniran added that, last year, the country recorded high cases of cholera which cannot be disconnected from unhygienic practices like open defecation. He has also called on each and every one to campaign against open defecation and sensitise people on the implications of open defecation.
He underlined the need for each and every one to campaign against open defecation. “One of the diseases that comes from open defecation is also cholera and you must have been aware that around last year there were high cases of cholera recorded in different parts of the country. You cannot disconnect it from actions that are not hygienic such as this menace.”
To help the Ibadan community, a Nigerian toilet business owner and an advocate for clean toilets, Akintola Abimbola Omowunmi, has taken it upon herself to build toilets. According to her, after attending a training organised by UNICEF and RUWASSA, she has decided to build toilets and in the past four years and she has built over 127 toilets.
According to her, access to public convenience is a basic necessity for public health, dignity and convenience as everyone deserves access to clean, safe and well-maintained public restrooms.
Open defecation is an environmental issue that still persists in Oyo State and Nigeria at large.
According to a report published by UNICEF Nigeria 2025, approximately 54% of Oyo State’s population still practices open defecation. This translates to roughly 4.5 million people.
In light of this, the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Seun Ashamu, issued a warning on August 8, 2025, during the arraignment of environmental offenders at the environmental tribunal court located within the ministry’s premises.
He emphasised that the environmental tribunal court is now fully operational and empowered to prosecute violators of the state’s environmental laws. The state government, in collaboration with UNICEF and other partners, said they are working to eliminate open defecation by 2028, with a focus on providing access to safe and dignified sanitation facilities for all residents.
Germany is bracing for intense summer heat, with forecasters warning that temperatures could approach 40 degrees Celsius by midweek.
The German Weather Service (DWD) said on Monday, August 11, 2025, that the heat would build steadily before thunderstorms arrive later in the week, offering some relief.
Tourists in Europe struggle in the heat. Photo credit: AFP/Getty
Monday was already bringing plenty of sunshine, particularly in the southern half of the country, where skies were cloudless for much of the day.
Highs are expected to reach 32 degrees in areas.
The heat is set to intensify on Tuesday, with highs ranging from 30 to 36 degrees in the south.
Overnight lows could remain above 15 degrees.
On Wednesday, the heat will spread to encompass the north-east, with temperatures of 31 to 38 degrees expected.
The DWD warns of strong heat stress in parts of the south-west.
Most of the country will stay sunny, though isolated showers could develop over the southern highlands.
The hot spell is expected to last through Friday, when the likelihood of widespread thunderstorms will increase.
As the global climate crisis worsens and the push for net-zero emissions grows, carbon offsetting is becoming more important.
Once seen as a side idea, it is now a key part of global climate finance.
A panel discussion session at the Forest Carbon Dialogue
In Nigeria, this movement is fast gaining ground.
For example, international investors, development agencies, and private companies are now expressing interest in buying carbon credits from local forest reserves, community farmlands, and conservation sites.
The Nigerian Government sees carbon trading as a crucial path to climate finance and sustainable development.
Specifically, the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) estimates that Nigeria could earn over 2.5 billion dollars annually through a well-regulated carbon market.
Consequently, in October 2023, Nigeria launched its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), a crucial step in establishing a domestic carbon market that aligns with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
The ETS is part of the broader Nigeria Emissions Trading Framework (NETF) and seeks to regulate the sale of carbon credits by setting up rules, registries, and enforcement mechanisms.
The policy, unveiled by the NCCC, was widely lauded as a landmark in mobilising climate finance for Africa’s most populous country.
In line with this, the government signed several memoranda of understanding with international partners and began building national registries to manage transactions and ensure compliance.
However, critics say this focus on market incentives overshadows the deeper structural changes needed to tackle climate change at home.
Beneath the growing excitement, concerns are emerging over transparency, fairness, and the very idea of commodifying Nigeria’s nature in a global carbon marketplace.
Recently, a Forest Carbon Dialogue was convened in Benin by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).
It brought together legal scholars, community advocates, farmers, and youth to critically examine carbon offsetting and trading in Nigeria.
Environmental justice groups, civil society organisations, and community-based advocates are raising red flags.
The gathering, themed “Beyond Carbon Offsets”, featured thought-provoking discussions on climate justice, the commodification of nature, and the risks of carbon colonialism.
They interrogated the ethics, legality, and implications of carbon trading, especially as forest-rich states like Edo, Cross River, and Bayelsa increasingly attract international offset developers.
HOMEF, one of Nigeria’s foremost ecological think tanks, considers the proposed carbon offset scheme fraught with ethical and practical concerns.
In his opening remarks, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of HOMEF, strongly criticised the idea behind the carbon market.
According to him, “The idea that carbon pollution can be outsourced or traded like a commodity trivialises the urgency of real climate action.
“Offsets are simply a distraction.
“They offer corporations in the Global North a license to pollute, while shifting the burden to poor communities in the South.”
Carbon offsets, in simple terms, are actions taken to compensate for greenhouse gas emissions.
Companies or countries pay for activities such as tree planting or forest conservation that supposedly absorb an equivalent amount of CO₂ from the atmosphere.
These credits are then traded or sold to “neutralise” emissions.
Nevertheless, critics argue that this market-based mechanism is dangerously flawed and susceptible to manipulation.
The dialogue further dissected the growing interest in Nigeria’s nature-based assets as a source of carbon credits, a move encouraged by the government through its ETS.
While the scheme promises climate finance and support for reforestation, HOMEF’s convening exposed a gap between policy narratives and grassroots realities.
One of the most forceful arguments at the event was the lack of transparency and community inclusion.
Speakers noted that communities are often asked to surrender land use rights through contracts they neither understand nor negotiate.
For instance, Israel Orheka, a panelist during the dialogue, traced the origins of the carbon market to the Kyoto Protocol, faulting its framework for excluding the voices of directly impacted communities.
“We were never part of the design. That’s why we are resisting it. Any solution that is not co-developed with us is a solution imposed against us,” he said.
He stressed that documents are often presented in English, filled with technical terms, and misrepresented as tree planting projects that will bring jobs.
However, years later, affected communities discover they can no longer farm or access sacred sites.
Participants also raised concerns about land grabbing.
They feared that carbon offset schemes disguised as conservation could strip communities of ancestral lands for up to 30 years, the typical duration of such projects.
“These forests, wetlands, and mangroves are not empty, they are home to livelihoods, culture, and memory. Turning them into carbon sinks for foreign companies is not climate justice”.
He also revealed that Nigeria has already lost over 90 per cent of its forest cover, with many so-called protected areas facing threats from illegal logging and mining.
He cited massive land grabs in Niger, Delta, and Cross River states, some as large as a million hectares, signed off under the guise of carbon projects.
“These deals don’t benefit our communities. In Mozambique, families were paid just 100 dollars for seven years to watch over trees.
“For the next 99 years, they were barred from farming or accessing forest resources. That is carbon slavery,” he said.
In his own views, Mr Cadmus Atake-Enade, HOMEF’s Programme Manager, Community and Culture, emphasised that every form of extraactivism affects our forest and livelihoods.
“Every form of extra activism affects our forest and livelihoods,” Atake-Enade said.
Other speakers, such as Rita Nwaka of Environmental Rights Action (ERA), challenged the idea that monoculture plantations are equivalent to forests.
She noted that forests are more than trees; they provide food, medicine, livelihoods, and cultural identity.
Therefore, she insisted that communities, not corporations, should be the rightful custodians.
She also condemned reports of militarisation and gender-based violence in areas affected by REDD+ and carbon trading projects, recounting stories of women harassed and even shot during peaceful protests.
Ultimately, the participants called for greater investment in agroecology, renewable energy, youth-led green innovation, and legal support for communities resisting unjust carbon deals.
They urged the Nigerian government to prioritise genuine emission reductions, especially in oil and gas, rather than rely on offsets that allow polluters to continue business as usual.
The dialogue concluded with a resolution: Nigeria should pause the approval of new carbon offset projects until a national framework grounded in justice, transparency, and sustainability is in place.
Furthermore, all existing projects should undergo independent audits to assess their impact on local communities.
In conclusion, as Nigeria plans to expand its carbon trading system, HOMEF and its allies have issued a clear warning.
Offsets may bring in money, but without safeguards, they could take away communities’ land, dignity, and future.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted thunderstorms and rains from Monday, August 11 to Wednesday, August 13, 2025, across the country.
NiMet’s weather outlook released on Sunday, August 10 in Abuja envisaged morning thunderstorms on Monday over the northern region with moderate rains over parts of Sokoto, Kebbi, Adamawa and Taraba states.
Thundery weather
According to it, thunderstorms with moderate rains are expected over parts of Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Taraba and Adamawa states later in the day.
The agency envisaged the high possibility of flood to occur in parts of Katsina, Kebbi, Zamfara and Sokoto states during the forecast period.
“For the Central Region, there are prospects of light rain over parts of Niger State during the morning period.
“In the afternoon/evening hours, thunderstorms with light rains are anticipated over parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Plateau, Niger, Nasarawa, Benue and Kogi states.
“There is a high possibility of flood occurring over parts of Plateau, Nasarawa and Niger states during the forecast period,” it said.
NiMet anticipated cloudy skies over the southern region with prospects of intermittent light rains to affected parts of Ebonyi, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states during the morning period.
It predicted moderate rains over parts of Enugu, Edo, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Osun, Abia, Cross River, Rivers, Delta and Akwa Ibom states later in the day.
According to it, there is a high possibility of floods occurring over parts of Delta, Imo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states during the forecast period.
“For Tuesday, morning thunderstorms with moderate rains are anticipated over parts of Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, Adamawa, Katsina and Kaduna states.
“Thunderstorms with moderate rains are expected over parts of Bauchi, Borno, Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Sokoto and Gombe states during the afternoon/evening hours,” it said.
The agency predicted light rains over parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue and Kogi states in the central region during the morning period.
It envisaged thunderstorms with light rains over parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Niger, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, Plateau and Kwara states later in the day.
NiMet also anticipated cloudy skies over the southern region with prospects of light rains to affected parts of Oyo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross River, Lagos and Bayelsa states during the morning period.
The agency envisaged rains to continue over most parts of the region later in the day.
“For Wednesday, morning thunderstorms with moderate rains are anticipated over parts of Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states.
“Thunderstorms with moderate rains are expected over the entire region during the afternoon/evening hours.
”Light rains are anticipated over parts of Kwara, Niger, Kogi and Plateau states of the central region during the morning hours,” it said.
NiMet anticipated thunderstorms with light rains over the entire region later in the day.
According to it, light rains are expected over parts of Enugu, Ebonyi, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta and Bayelsa states of the southern region in the morning period.
It predicted continuous rain over the entire region during the afternoon or evening period.
“Driving under heavy rain should be avoided.
“The states with the possibility of flash flood should activate the emergency response system immediately.
“To avoid leaching of nutrients, farmers should refrain from applying fertiliser and pesticides right before the rains.
“Ensure warm clothing for vulnerable persons due to low night-time temperatures.
“Ensure that loose objects are fastened to avoid collisions.
“Disconnect electrical appliances from electrical sockets.
“Stay away from tall trees to avoid impact from falling branches and broken trees,” it said.
NiMet urged airline operators to get airport-specific weather reports (flight documentation) from NiMet for effective planning in their operations.
The agency also advised residents to stay informed through weather updates by visiting NiMet’s website (www.nimet.gov.ng).
A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) on Monday, August 11, 2025, expressed concern over the conflicting positions of Federal Government agencies on the safety of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the food chain.
The CSOs’ concerns were voiced by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Environmental Rights Action (ERA), and the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance in a statement.
GMOs
Their position was contained in a statement signed by Miss Kome Odhomor, HOMEF’s Media and Communications Lead.
They condemned what they described as inconsistency by Nigeria’s lead agency responsible for safeguarding public health on food and drug matters, particularly regarding GMO safety.
The coalition, comprising over 80 civil society organisations, researchers, farmers, women’s and youth groups representing the interests of millions of Nigerians, said the divergent views by regulators were unacceptable.
Recall that Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), on Aug. 8, stated that GMOs, particularly in food, were not harmful to human health, provided safety protocols were observed.
“GMOs are genetically modified foods and they are not bad for us.
“They are not bad for us, depending on what type of foods they are and whether safety considerations have been taken,” Adeyeye said at the time.
However, in June 2024, Adeyeye had taken a different stance, expressing concern over GMO safety in Nigeria.
She had stated: “NAFDAC does not consider GMO foods safe for consumption due to insufficient research and data at the agency’s disposal regarding their safety.
“Until we get very convincing data to show the safety for human consumption, NAFDAC’s position remains that GMOs are not safe.”
On potential uses for non-food crops, she had also maintained that there was no evidence from NAFDAC confirming their safety for human consumption.
The coalition said it was baffled by the DG’s sudden change of position on GMOs.
“Where is the rigorous, independent and long-term research that NAFDAC or the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has conducted to confirm that GMOs are safe for consumption or what exactly informs this radical change of opinion?” the CSOs queried.
“The fact that our regulatory agency – the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) – cannot show evidence of independent, extensive risk assessments demonstrates irresponsibility and disregard for public health,” they concluded.
The statement quoted ERA’s Deputy Executive Director, Mariann Bassey-Olsson, as warning of threats to Nigeria’s food sovereignty.
She said GMOs risked contaminating indigenous seed varieties through gene transfer, a problem that was irreversible.
“For this reason, Mexico and several other countries have placed total or partial bans on GMOs,” she noted.
“GMOs also create dependence on foreign seed companies since they yield poorly after the first planting, forcing farmers to buy new seeds every season.
“Moreover, GMOs are patented, giving producers exclusive rights for years and prohibiting seed exchange – a practice long upheld by our farmers.”
The statement quoted Prof. Johnson Ekpere, an independent consultant and convener of the GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, as saying: “These agencies are yet to show evidence of a robust, long-term, independent study – particularly feeding studies – to confirm that GMOs are safe.
“Meanwhile, a recent rat-feeding study by Iranian scientists showed substantial liver and kidney damage in rats fed GM soybean oil for 90 days.
“Similar studies have linked GMOs to tumours and immune disorders such as asthma and allergies.
“This sort of inconsistency and falsehood from government agencies tasked with protecting our health and environment is unacceptable.”
The statement also cited Dr Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of HOMEF, who said the dangers of GMOs extended beyond health risks to long-term, possibly irreversible soil and environmental degradation.
He referred to reports from the National Cotton Farmers Association of Nigeria, where farmers complained that after three years of planting pesticidal cotton (Bt cotton), conventional crops no longer grew on those soils.
Bassey warned that herbicide-tolerant GMOs – accounting for about 80 per cent of GMOs globally – had caused severe biodiversity loss, as the herbicides they were designed to withstand kill not only target pests but also beneficial soil organisms.
“These GMOs have also led to the emergence of “super weeds,” forcing farmers to use more toxic herbicide formulations harmful to both the environment and human health.”
The coalition further quoted medical and molecular microbiologist Dr Ifeanyi Casmir.
Casmir warned that Bt crops – such as Bt beans approved for commercial release in 2019 and 2024, released proteins into the soil that destroyed beneficial microorganisms, degrading soil quality and reducing fertility.
“Studies have found Bt toxins in 93 per cent of pregnant women and 80 per cent of foetal cord blood, raising risks of birth defects, cancer, and allergies,” Casmir added.
Joyce Brown, Director of Programmes at HOMEF, questioned NAFDAC’s recent stance.
“Beyond the MoU signed with NBMA, what is NAFDAC doing about the over 50 processed food brands in our markets labelled as containing GMOs? Did NAFDAC and NBMA certify these products?”
Brown recalled that, in 2018, HOMEF and other CSOs asked NAFDAC if it was aware of the permit granted to WACOT Ltd in 2017 for GM maize.
“NAFDAC replied it was not. MoUs are ineffective if they don’t lead to genuine collaboration and rigorous oversight of processes that affect Nigerians.”
WACOT had tried to illegally import the maize but was stopped by Customs.
NBMA initially said it would be repatriated, but weeks later, WACOT was approved to import it for three years – contrary to the NBMA Act 2015, which requires 270 days’ notice before GMO imports,” she said.
The coalition urged the Senate to ban GMOs to protect indigenous seed varieties, safeguard public health, preserve soil integrity, and promote agroecological solutions.
They also called on the government to tackle the root causes of food insecurity by supporting smallholder farmers with credit, land, infrastructure, and security to enable them to return to their farms.
In its latest solar projects database update for 2025 H1, the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA) has identified more than 20 GWp worth of operational solar capacity across the continent.
The database counts close to 40,000 different projects at various stages of development. The 20 GWp capacity accounts for solar for utility-scale, C&I, mini-grids, SHS (Solar Home Systems). Residential projects for a limited set of countries are now also included in AFSIA’s database.
Solar energy
South Africa remains the engine of the African solar industry, accounting for approximately half of all capacity installed in the continent. North Africa also contributes greatly to the tally with Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia completing the Top 4 of African countries hosting the most solar capacity in operation.
This domination of the southern and northern parts of the continent is likely to be maintained going forward. In 2025, new capacity that became operational predominantly came from Southern Africa. While South Africa continues to invest massively in solar, other Southern African countries are now jumping on the bandwagon and have rolled out significant solar capacities in 2025 alone.
These include Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Senegal is almost an outlier in this Southern African group with 54 MWp new installed capacity identified YTD. In the northern part of the continent, the main push is expected to come from Algeria. After several years of inaction, the country has decided to move forward with a whopping 3 GW initiative across 20 projects. These projects are at various stages of construction, and several are expected to be commissioned before the end of 2025.
The other remarkable insight from the data is that African solar is on a strong growth trajectory, whereas other regions of the world are witnessing a slowdown of new solar installations. SolarPower Europe recently reported that it expects a solar decline of 1.4% this year, marking a negative annual growth for this first time since 2015. In the US, SEIA reports that solar installations have declined by 7% YoY and 43% between 2024 Q4 and 2025 Q1.
Africa however keeps beating its own records year after year, after recovering from the pandemic. Updated AFSIA figures indicate that 2024 saw a 44% increase in new installations, further building on the 22% increase momentum from 2023. And the future holds even greater prospects as more than 10 GWp of capacity has been identified to be under construction. Utility-scale projects currently under construction account for 70%, marking a solid rebound from the post-COVID years during which C&I was the predominant segment in African solar.
This capacity under construction is also more spread across the continent. South Africa remains the most active African country, but hosts “only” 28% of the current construction activity. Algeria, Egypt, Angola, Tunisia and Zambia are other hot spots for African solar and account for 75% of all current solar construction activity together with South Africa.
This steady growth of solar will be at the centre of discussions at REFA – the Renewable Energy Forum Africa which is to take place in Accra from December 3 to 4, 2025. Organised by AFSIA and SolarPower Europe, with the support of GET.invest, the investment forum is the annual meeting place for professionals of the African renewable energy industry, covering all topics including solar, storage, electric mobility and green hydrogen, to cite a few.
BP is to reopen a key North Sea field and pump new oil and gas for at least a decade, despite Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s attempts to cut back the offshore industry.
The energy giant is reviving the Murlach field, which was declared uneconomic and taken out of use in 2004, has now become viable partly due to new technologies.
BP’s Murlach field was taken out of use in 2004. New technologies have made it economically viable again. Photo credit: Saknarong Butsabong / Shutterstock
BP won agreement to reopen Murlach, 120 miles east of Aberdeen, under the previous government and has since been installing equipment, with production potentially restarting next month.
The milestone comes despite efforts by the Energy Secretary to bring an end to new fossil fuel production in the North Sea. Mr Miliband and his predecessors have almost doubled the taxation rate on oil and gas profits and banned the issuing of licences for new exploration and production.
BP said the Murlach field contained 20 million barrels of recoverable oil and 600 million cubic metres of gas – enough to keep it in production for 11 years. “Murlach is expected to produce around 20,000 barrels of oil and 17 million cubic feet of gas per day,” it said.
It means BP can partially reverse the decline in North Sea output, which has seen oil production fall from 96,000 barrels per day in 2020 to 70,000 last year. Gas production has fallen from 221m square feet a day to 197m.
Climate campaigners have condemned BP’s decision to push ahead with reopening the North Sea’s Murlach oil field in direct defiance of Miliband’s call to halt new fossil fuel projects.
Describing the development as a “Dangerous Act of Climate Vandalism”, 350.org stated that BP’s move comes as climate scientists warn the UK must urgently phase out oil and gas to meet its net-zero commitments and limit global heating to 1.5°C.
Kate Blagojevic, Europe Team Lead, 350.org, said: “This is climate vandalism, pure and simple. BP is putting its profit margins above the survival of communities, ecosystems, and future generations. Every barrel of oil from this project pushes us closer to climate breakdown, more floods, more fires, more heatwaves. The era of fossil fuels is over, and BP’s desperate attempts to wring out the last drops of oil from the North Sea are a reckless betrayal of the public and the planet. They should be winding down, not doubling down.”
Campaigners warn that reopening the Murlach oil field undermines the UK’s credibility as a climate leader just months before world leaders gather for COP30 in Brazil. The field was previously shut down in 2004 as it was deemed uneconomic but has become viable again due to advancements in extraction technologies.
350.org called on the UK Government to stand firm against fossil fuel expansion, invest in renewable energy, and deliver a just transition for workers and communities.
Dr Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK’s policy director, said: “The North Sea is on death’s door. Reserves are drying up and what’s left and untapped is barely enough to keep it on life support. The only sensible thing to do is to pivot [from] the North Sea to something we have an abundance of, and something that will never run out – wind.”
A spokesman for Mr. Miliband said: “We are committed to delivering the manifesto commitment to not issue new licences to explore new fields because they will not take a penny off bills, cannot make us energy secure, and will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis.
“We are delivering a fair and orderly transition in the North Sea, with the biggest ever investment in offshore wind and two first of a kind carbon capture and storage clusters.”
