The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to promoting Public-Private Partnerships in the water and sanitation sector in collaboration with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
DG of ICRC, Dr Jobson Ewalefoh (left), with the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof Joseph Utsev
This collaboration is aimed at advancing President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Utsev made this known during a courtesy visit by the Director-General of the ICRC, Dr Jobson Ewalefoh, and his delegation to the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday, May 19, 2025.
He stressed that strengthening ties with the ICRC is essential for expanding access to water and sanitation infrastructure across Nigeria.
According to the minister, PPPs remain a vital strategy for mobilising private sector involvement and investment in critical sectors.
“Our collaboration must be sustained to fast-track access to safe water, improve sanitation, and boost food production. We are particularly focused on advancing PPP models through the River Basin Development Authorities,” he stated.
Utsev also outlined the ongoing National Campaign to End Open Defecation, adding that a clean and healthy environment is crucial for attracting investment and improving public health outcomes.
He further disclosed that President Tinubu has directed the ministry to assess the status and structural integrity of all dams across the country to determine their suitability for water supply, irrigation, flood control, and hydropower generation.
According to Utsev, these integrity assessments will help unlock the economic potential of the dams and support the country’s broader development objectives.
In his remarks, Ewalefoh, commended the ministry for its leadership in advancing key infrastructure projects that align with both national priorities and global targets, including Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6).
He underlined the role of PPPs in delivering impactful, transparent, and bankable initiatives.
He cited landmark projects such as the Dasin-Hausa Dam, Farin Ruwa, Manya, Bawarku, Grand Katsina-Ala, Kashimbila Airport, and Gurara II Dam.
Ewalefoh proposed deeper collaboration in expanding rural water infrastructure, rehabilitating dams, enhancing sanitation facilities, and scaling up hydropower initiatives.
He also recommended exploring innovative PPP models such as a National Sanitation Framework, desalination projects, bulk water supply schemes, and smart water utilities under PPP arrangements.
He urged the management of the River Basin Development Authorities to participate in the PPP National Summit scheduled for June 14, 2025, to strengthen partnerships and attract greater investment in the water and sanitation sectors.
An agroscientist, Dr Sadiq Mohammed, on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, urged the Federal Government to strengthen the country’s environment protection laws to safeguard public health and improve the life expectancy for Nigerians.
Malam Balarabe Abbas Lawal, Minister of Environment
Mohammed, an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, said this during an interview in Abuja.
He decried the widespread pollution of water bodies, indiscriminate use of agrochemicals and weak compliance to environmental regulations across the country.
The expert said that pollution of the water bodies was affecting the quality of crops, fruit yields with their consumption affecting the life expectancy of many Nigerians.
“The governments need to understand that environmental laws need to be strengthened.
“When you inform industries that you are coming for inspection, they will make the place fantastic for you to see.
“They won’t take you to the suburbs; some of them discharge industrial and pharmaceutical wastes into water bodies that are meant for municipal water supply.
“They are discharging pharmaceutical effluent, cement waste and people downstream are using it, they don’t understand the chemistry, they take that and it is affecting them.
“We also have naira notes made with mercury, when you burn mutilated money, which is a physical process, the mercury content in that money remains in the ash and it is deposited on the soil,’’ Mohammed said.
He explained that local farmers did not understand the chemical process and they would pack the ash from burnt money and apply on the farm as organic manure.
He said the body naturally produced iodine from the thyroid gland and its chemical reaction with mercury would convert to mercury iodide, inhibiting iodine secretion leading to goitre disease.
“Our environment is heterogenous, people pack rubbish, cement, battery, polythene bags, and that is what the farmers go to scoop.
“Whatever you send into the soil is what it will give back to you; the plants will absorb these pollutants.
“The plants do not have the mechanism to remove contaminants in them, so we harvest and eat them.”
Mohammed said when we were loading our systems with chemicals that did not have biological function we were hurting our life expectancy.
“Until the government is ready to strengthen our environmental laws, the typical life expectancy of a Nigerian will drop to 30 years; we shouldn’t allow that to happen,’’ he said.
Mohammed further explained that agrochemicals are releasing residues into the soil which would affect soil fertility over time.
He also frowned at indiscriminate mining licenses granted to mining companies, adding that proper laws were not put in place for the reclamation of such mined lands.
According to him, abandoned mine sites gather water which farmers convert to irrigation water, adding that this practice also contributes to food chain contamination
Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has called on the National Assembly to enact stricter legislation aimed at safeguarding Nigeria’s power infrastructure from acts of vandalism.
Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu
Emphasising the need for enhanced legal measures, Adelabu stressed that robust laws are critical to deterring the destruction of vital energy assets and ensuring the stability of the nation’s electricity supply.
Adelabu made the call at the weekend while speaking at a two-day retreat organised by the Senate Committee on Power.
According to the Minister, vandalism should not be treated as a civil offence but a criminal issue, adding that power theft, nonpayment of bills by consumers, illegal connections are critical factors that need to be tackled.
Adelabu acknowledged that, in spite of the challenges, the grid has been stabilised as the country has not witnessed any grid collapse since the beginning of the year.
“The level of stability on our grid today is not by accident but hard work and expenditure. In 2024, TCN installed 61 new transformers by either replacing aged one or building new one. Also in 2025, within the first four months, TCN installed about 13 new transformers and there are high-capacity transformers ranging from 10 megawatts to 300 megawatts.
“Put together, they run into hundreds of million dollars to install and these are what our people still go out to vandalise. Our towers are toppled by saboteurs and vandals, we have illegal connections, and people tampering with meters.”
The Minister urged appropriate legislation and public vigilance to protect national assets that belong to every Nigerian.
“We need more stringent legislation to tackle this problem ” he said.
The Minister also made a case for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in appropriation, adding that the agency does not have enough money to fund its operations.
“They are short of funds, they operate solely on their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) which has been nose diving over the years. What they get monthly cannot even pay their salary not to talk of maintaining ageing infrastructure, expanding transmission networks. There should be a way to accommodate TCN in appropriation,” he said.
Adelabu spoke on the persistent crisis threatening to derail progress In the sector which is chronic underinvestment in distribution infrastructure, which continues to cripple service delivery nationwide in spite of landmark reforms in the electricity sector.
The Minister revealed glaring disparities in distribution company (DisCo) performance, with aging networks, rampant electricity theft, and poor investment deepening reliance on unsustainable subsidies and leaving millions in darkness.
“We need to get tough with the DisCos, as they can easily frustrate all the gains we have made. They have disappointed us in performance expectations. Whatever we do in generation does not mean anything to consumers if it is frustrated at the distribution points.”
He noted that in 2003 restructuring of the sector, the DisCos were supposed to have technical partners, but a lot of them showed partnership with foreign companies for that purpose which lasted for about three months, immediately they took over, those companies left. So we need utility companies that can invest in the sector to improve infrastructure, improve service,” the Minister said, adding that, “a lot of them went to the banks to take loans to buy the assets, after taking over, instead of providing infrastructure they are taking out the money to pay the loans.”
According to the Minister, despite tariff adjustments that boosted market liquidity by 70 percent – raising sector revenue from ₦1 trillion in 2023 to ₦1.7 trillion in 2024 – the distribution segment remains the weakest link.
“In the fourth quarter of 2024, DisCos in the North remitted just ₦124.4 billion (30 percent) of their ₦408.86 billion invoice, with Abuja DisCo accounting for 85 percent of Northern payments. Southern DisCos fared slightly better, remitting ₦254.6 billion (67 percent), though 70 percent of this came from Lagos DisCos alone. These discrepancies are due largely to crumbling infrastructure outside economic hubs, where underinvestment has left networks dilapidated.”
Adelabu noted that the metering gap, a key driver of revenue loss and consumer distrust, underscores systemic neglect, adding that the government has launched a ₦700 billion Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) and a World Bank-backed programme targeting 4.3 million meters by 2025, 75,000 units were deployed in April 2024 while additional 200, 000 is expected in May.
“Closing this gap is fundamental to fair billing and financial sustainability,” the Minister acknowledged, “but we are not there yet due to underinvestment and operational inefficiencies.”
The sector also faces a ₦4 trillion subsidy backlog owed to generation companies, including ₦1.94 trillion for 2024 alone. With monthly subsidy shortfalls now hitting ₦200 billion, the Minister warned that maintaining current tariffs is “unsustainable,” straining public funds needed for infrastructure upgrades.
“To salvage the sector, we will soon embark on restructuring underperforming DisCos and tightening enforcement of performance benchmarks. However, without urgent capital injection into distribution networks, gains in generation – including a historic 6,003MW output in March 2025 – and transmission upgrades, such as 61 new transformers deployed in 2024, will fail to translate to reliable household supply.”
The Minister highlighted plans to attract private investment into grid infrastructure and regionalise transmission networks to reduce failure risks, noting that the 70 percent remittance by the two DisCos in Lagos reflects better infrastructure than what obtains in the northern networks.
The Minister also spoke of plans to boost power supply in the Northern part of the country.
“We are looking at developing Makurdi hydropower project which is about 1000 megawatts. We also want to revitalise Kaduna thermal plants which has been abandoned for the past five years, it is a 215 megawatts capacity plant and is presently at about 87 percent completion. Efforts are on presently to restore this power plant.”
Adelabu said the state government has expressed interest in taking over the Katsina windfarm with an installed capacity of 10 megawatts.
“The Katsina State Government has expressed desire to take this up with some private investors and we have commissioned a feasibility study to concession the farm which had been abandoned for a while.”
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has expressed commitment to facilitating the importation of renewable energy technologies into the country.
Solar panels installation
The Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adeniyi, made this statement at the NCS Trade Facilitation Consultative Forum held in Lagos on Monday, May 19, 2025.
The theme of the forum is“Trade Facilitation Measures for Renewable Energy and Energy-Efficient Technologies”.
Adeniyi, represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs on Tariff and Trade Facilitation, Caroline Niagwan, said the commitment would involve enforcing fiscal measures to promote a shift from fossil fuel dependency.
He said this was with a view to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060.
Customs efforts to renewable energy primarily involve regulating import of essential equipment like solar panels ensuring duty-free and VAT-free classification to support the development of the sector.
Customs renewable energy operations include classifying solar panels under specific Harmonised System (HS) codes, ensuring consistent and fair treatment of imports, and streamlining procedures for compliant businesses.
Adeniyi said that the Green Customs Initiative responds to the growing number of legally binding Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and recognises the critical role customs play in enforcing them.
“Under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, the Federal Government continues to champion policies that foster investment, ensure sustainability, and promote responsible industrial practices, as outlined in Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP),” Adeniyi said.
In his welcome address, the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in Charge of Zone ‘A’, Charles Orbih, said the Advance Ruling programme of NCS was officially inaugurated on May 2, 2024.
“Our focus on renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies showcases our innovative approach to customs administration, adapting to evolving global priorities and consumer demands.
“In alignment with one of our strategic pillars- collaboration – the Nigeria Customs Service is proud to partner with GIZ, the Nigeria Energy Support Programme (NESP) and other numerous stakeholders to host this forum.
“The forum which reflects growing consumer demand and evolving policy focus on renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies,” Orbih said.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Mr. Mahmud Mamman, said trade facilitation played a crucial role in advancing renewable energy.
Mamman said that it showed energy efficiency by reducing barriers to the movement of renewable energy technologies and components across borders.
He said that simplifying customs procedures made it easier and more cost-effective to import renewable energy equipment, such as solar panels and batteries, thereby accelerating the deployment of renewable energy schemes.
Mamman said trade facilitation attracts foreign investment and expertise, enabling countries to develop advanced energy solutions and enhance efficiency.
He said the Federal Ministry of Power was committed to providing adequate, affordable, and reliable power supply which was guided by three key frameworks.
Head of Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Massimo De Luca, said the forum underscored collective commitment to addressing the critical nexus between trade policy, sustainable development, and climate action.
Represented by the Managing Director, Mrs. Thessa Bagu, said that the theme of this year’s forum resonated deeply with the shared priorities of Nigeria and the European Union in fostering green growth and sustainable economic development.
“We are proud to support Nigeria’s sustainable development agenda and energy transition plan through our extensive cooperation with the German Government.
“This collaboration exemplifies our commitment to the principles of partnership, mutual respect, and shared responsibility in addressing global challenges,” De Luca said.
The Logistics Manager, CIG Motors, Mr Agu Boniface, testified the processing of the Advance Ruling Programme, which he said had enhanced their operations and reduced time of doing business.
He said that his company applied for the Advance Ruling Programme and got feedback within 15 days of application, adding that it took them seven days to get the delivery.
The Country Director, GIZ Nigeria and ECOWAS, Dr Markus Wagner, commended NCS for the initiative, underscored the vital role the Nigeria Customs Service plays in advancing Nigeria’s sustainable development goals and energy transition.
“Through the siccessful launch of the Advance Ruling Systems, we have substantially simplified customs processes for importing clean energy components, directly supporting Nigeria’s ambitious green energy transformation.
“With the valuable support of our commissioning parties, in this case the German government and the European union through the Nigerian Energy Support Programme, which is implemented by GIZ in strong collaboration with the Nigerian Partners.
“Our collaboration has already delivered tangible results: shorter customs clearance times and reduced administrative burdens for clean energy importers.
“Today’s inauguration of the handbook on import and export procedure for renewable energy and energy efficient technologies represents another pivotal step toward enhancing ease of doing business across Nigerian borders,” he added.
In his paper presentation titled “The Role of Effective Communication Strategy as a Variable Tool to Deepen Trade Facilitation”, Assistant Comptroller, Abdullah Maiwada, explained the importance of communication to stakeholders in regardless of their language differences.
Maiwada, the National Public Relations Officer for the Nigeria Customs Service, stated that managing stakeholder relationships would enable effective trade facilitation for sustainable growth.
He said that in today’s fast-evolving global trade environment, the strategic deployment of effective communication was not just a supportive function, but a catalyst for transformation.
Maiwada said that effective communication was a bridge between policy practice, when used deliberately and strategically.
In the pre-independence Nigeria, agriculture, especially cocoa farming, was one of the mainstays of the nation’s economy.
Harvesting cocoa in Ghana
The top five cocoa producing states in Nigeria are Ondo, Osun, Cross River, Oyo, and Ogun, while Edo, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Delta, Abia, Enugu and Akwa Ibom produce in a smaller scale.
Regrettably, as oil production and exportation gained momentum, there was a significant shift from agriculture, including cocoa farming, as investment in it waned.
In recent years, there have been a resurgence of cocoa farming and increased trading in the commodity as well as rise in the price – bringing hope and excitement to stakeholders.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed a significant surge in Nigeria’s cocoa exports, with the country exporting N1.2 trillion in 2024 and up from N171 billion in 2023, representing an impressive 606 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone.
This surge is attributed to a combination of favourable market conditions and the impact of seasonality, as well as unfavourable weather patterns affecting major global cocoa producers, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.
“Nigeria’s cocoa exports recorded a 92 per cent rise from N624.71 billion in the third quarter of 2024, fueled by cocoa price rally.
“As prices soared, Nigerian cocoa farmers and exporters took advantage of the opportunity, reviving old cocoa plantations and planting new cocoa trees to tap into the lucrative cash crop value chain,’’ AgroNigeria has reported.
From cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, chocolate cake and cocoa powder to animal feed and pectin, among others, cocoa had been very useful to the medical, confectionary and food industry.
Economic experts say the global resurgence of the cocoa trade must be optimally harnessed by Nigeria, the fourth largest producer of cocoa in the world.
Recently, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the draft bill for the establishment of the National Cocoa Management Board (NCMB) in order to revamp Nigeria’s cocoa industry.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, who conveyed the decision, said the initiative was aimed at establishing Nigeria as a key player in the global cocoa market while enhancing the welfare of cocoa farmers nationwide.
According to him, the decision is in tandem with broader goals to ensure sustainable practices and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers who are crucial to the industry.
Kyari said that NCMB would be empowered to regulate the cocoa sub-sector, rehabilitate plantations, provide soft credit facilities to farmers, and enforce market standards.
“The board is expected to drive a sustainable cocoa economy that will contribute significantly to Nigeria’s gross domestic product by boosting domestic consumption, attracting youths into agriculture, and increasing foreign exchange earnings through export of premium-quality cocoa products.
“In 2023, Nigeria generated N356.16 billion from cocoa beans and allied products. With this new framework, we will be competing directly with top global producers such as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire,” he said.
At the subnational, cocoa stakeholders and farmers are making the resurgence count.
A cocoa farmer at Erunmu in Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mr Taofeek Adesola, said he returned to his village in 2020 to take care of his late father’s cocoa farm after he lost his job in Lagos State.
Adesola said that the decision had changed his economic status.
“I have renovated my late father’s house at Lalupon and equally started building my own house from cocoa beans proceeds,” he said.
He spoke on his plan to start cultivating more high-yielding seedlings to replace old cocoa trees in his late father’s farm in the coming season.
A cocoa produce buyer in the state, Chief Ezekiel Olagunju, also confirmed the development, attributing it to poor Naira exchange rate with the dollar.
According to him, the exchange rate favours cocoa exporters as they get more Naira from export of cocoa beans.
Olagunju further attributed the boom to the shortfall in cocoa production in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana as a result of unfavourable weather in the two countries.
According to him, the two countries are the top cocoa growers in West Africa, and a shortfall in the countries’ supplies resulted in high demand from Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Enugu State Government, in collaboration with a private investor, WhiteRabbit Agro Ltd., has embarked on establishing cocoa plantations in the state for massive production and processing.
The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Mr Patrick Ubru, said that the pilot plantation of 20 hectares was located in Nkanu East Local Government Area of the state.
“In line with Gov. Peter Mbah’s vision, the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation is in partnership with a private investor, WhiteRabbit Agro Ltd., to develop the state government’s Cocoa Initiative and make the state a mass cocoa producer and processor.
“The ministry will also push to spread the initiative to five other local government areas surrounding Nkanu East LGA due to their similarities in topography and soil type.
“We are reaching out to local government areas within that topography and soil type such as Nkanu West, Isi-Uzo, Oji-River, Aninri and Awgu to, at least, do a pilot of 100 hectares of cocoa plantation in each.
“We are pursuing it with the vigour it deserves and we want to ensure that we encourage our people to take to cocoa farming and have large cocoa plantations of their own,” he said.
The commissioner said that the partners in the project were already developing 100,000 high-yielding and early-producing cocoa varieties obtained from Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan.
Ubru said that the cocoa nursery was located at Amaechi Idodo community in Nkanu East Local Government Area.
“One tonne of cocoa today in the international market goes for 10,500 dollars; in naira, the value is about N16.3 million.
“The governor gave a mandate to the ministry, when we came on board, to develop cocoa farming, and we are head-on doing it and collaborating with all stakeholders,’’ he said.
In Cross River, the cocoa renaissance tune is also reverberating.
Recently, the A A Universal Agro Company, said that Nigeria could earn N900 billion annually from the Ikom Cocoa Export Processing Plant in Cross River when fully operational.
The Managing Director of the agro company, Mr Chris Agara, whose firm is the concessionaire of the cocoa processing plant, said he was in partnership with an Israeli compan, B and Co., a member of the LR Group, to turn around Nigeria’s cocoa industry.
“My firm has a contract grant agreement between the U.S. Government through the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).
“The contract is to carry out feasibility study and bankable business plan to farm and develop cocoa and cassava farms and value chains from farm to table, to international standards and best practice.
“It will be for local uses and export purposes,” he said.
The industrialist said that adopting the firm’s protocols and methodology would increase cocoa yield from its present 400kg per hectare to 3.5 tonnes per hectare.
He urged the Federal Government to give support the firm to enable it to access funds from the International Finance Institute.
“The Federal Government should support us because this funding we are trying to raise is from the International Finance Institute.
“We need guarantee from the Federal Government for this funding.
“We also need guarantee from the state government through a policy, to ensure that Cross River cocoa is processed in Cross River, because most of our cocoa is taken out of the state by merchants.
“Our foreign partner is one of the largest agro companies in Israel; their technology can improve our cocoa farm yields from less than half a tonne to 3.5 or four tonnes, which we want to introduce to farmers.”
Agara said that the organisation would also help farmers to regenerate their farms ttoa higher and better production level.
It is noteworthy that cocoa prices can fluctuate.
Data from AFEX indicates that cocoa prices plunged by 25.73 per cent in early May having hit a historic high of N15, 900 per kilogramme.
Reports also show that the commodity currently sells dor about ₦10,000 per kilogramme after an 18-week low of ₦9,500.
Analysts are optimistic that Nigeria will do more to revamp its cocoa industry to boost foreign exchange, create jobs and improve the economy.
By Chijioke Okoronkwo, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
The United Nations (UN) says it has been forced to cut spending, freeze hiring and scale back some services as the global organisation faces a worsening cash crisis.
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres
Member States on Monday, May 19, 2025, urged members to pay up, warning that the deepening financial crisis threatened the world body’s ability to carry out vital work.
The General Assembly’s Fifth Committee met throughout Monday to discuss the multilateral organisation’s financial health.
With a growing shortfall in contributions, member states owed $2.4 billion in unpaid regular budget dues and $2.7 billion in peacekeeping.
Officials warned that the non-payment of contributions risked eroding the UN’s credibility and its capacity to fulfil mandates entrusted to it by member states.
Switzerland’s delegate, speaking also on behalf of Liechtenstein, said “Each delay in payment, each hiring freeze, each cancelled service chips away at trust in our ability to deliver”.
One proposed solution was to allow the UN to temporarily keep unspent funds at year’s end, instead of returning them to member states as credits.
Currently, this return is mandatory, even if the funds arrive late in the year, giving the UN little time to spend them.
The suggested change would be expected to act as a buffer to keep operations running, particularly in January when payments tend to lag.
Delegates also backed limited use of “special commitments”, which is emergency funding tools, early in the year to bridge gaps caused by delayed contributions.
While these fixes might help, several speakers, including delegates from Kazakhstan, Norway and the United Kingdom, emphasised that the root cause was the continued late or non-payment of dues.
Norway noted that such temporary measures would not solve the underlying problem and urged member states to support bold financial reforms.
The European Union stressed that the crisis was not abstract, adding they were real operational risks and the burden could not fall solely on countries that paid on time.
Singapore, speaking for the Southeast Asian group of nations, ASEAN, echoed concerns that the UN’s liquidity problems had become routine.
It cited the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s (ESCAP) need to shut its offices for three months and suspend travel and hiring.
Particularly troubling to many delegates was the fact that one country, unnamed in the meeting but widely known to be the U.S. was responsible for over half of all unpaid dues.
The U.S. under President Donald Trump, is reportedly withholding the funds due to the UN for political reasons.
Russia called for more transparency in how the UN managed cash-saving measures, cautioning against actions taken without member states’ input.
Catherine Pollard, the UN’s top management official, noted that since May 9, a handful of countries had paid in full across several budget categories, while the number of nations who had paid in full for the regular budget stood at 106 for the year.
As of May 19, the UN records showed only 61 countries had met all their UN’s obligations in full.
The message from member states on Monday clearly states that without broad, timely financial support, the UN’s ability to serve the world, especially in times of crisis, is at serious risk.
Member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, adopted a new pandemic treaty aimed at avoiding the panic and disarray seen during the COVID-19 crisis.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organisation (WHO)
The agreement was accepted without a formal vote on the second day of the members’ annual World Health Assembly in Geneva.
As the conference chair asked whether there were any objections, silence followed, prompting him to declare the treaty adopted by consensus.
The treaty outlines measures for coordinated procurement of protective equipment during future pandemics, enhanced monitoring of diseases in both animals and humans.
There should also be the transfer of medical technology to ensure that medicines and vaccines can be produced in low-income countries.
However, several contentious details remain unresolved and are set to be negotiated separately over the next year as part of an annex to the treaty.
These include a new mechanism to accelerate vaccine production and ensure equitable distribution to poorer nations.
The climate crisis impacts us in many ways, and my experience of this crisis is like that of many vulnerable Nigerians. Growing up in a confluence region and ministering as a priest across Nigeria, I have had the opportunity to meet and listen to voices that are not often heard in climate policy and diplomacy circles. Many marginal communities and individuals are forced to “manufacture” resilience to respond to the threats posed by the crisis.
Rev. Fr. Atta Barkindo, PhD
Women who are unable to support their families because their crops have failed due to droughts or flooding, men forced to migrate due to extreme drought caused by disappearing water sources, and children with no access to clean drinking water. These are our people, especially poor suffering Nigerians, who are faced with climate impacts.
This ecological and climate crisis is more than just a scientific issue. It is a moral, spiritual, and ethical reckoning. It requires Ecoharmony – a way of living that honors the intrinsic value of all creation. The late Pope Francis’s landmark encyclical Laudato Si(Praise be to You) frames this crisis perfectly as: “care for our common home,” and everything within it is connected. The degradation we witness today stems not just from failed policies but from human greed and profound disconnection from nature.
Similarly, Saint Pope John Paul II warned of an “anthropological error” – the dangerous illusion that nature exists solely for our consumption. The truth is simpler and more profound: we are stewards, not owners. We are caretakers entrusted with the Creator’s masterpiece. But this isn’t a mere theology; it has practical implications for how we live, govern and care for the earth and for one another.
At the Kukah Centre, Interfaith Dialogue is at the core of what we do as we bridge Nigeria’s faith communities and faith and public leaders. We believe that an engaged citizenry is possible by advocating for inclusive initiatives and by serving as the mediating platform between the government, citizens, and communities. Similar work flourishes across other faith traditions: Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society supports climate refugees, while in Cross River State, church leaders collaborate with women and traditional authorities to protect sacred groves from illegal logging. These are not isolated efforts but signs of a growing movement.
The Catholic Church offers a global structure capable of swift, coordinated action. Through Vatican Dicasteries, dioceses, religious orders, and lay networks worldwide, the Church is able to coordinate, encourage and implement environment focused practices from parish solar panels to ecological curriculum in schools. The first-ever Faith Pavilion at COP29 in Baku highlighted these possibilities and the Church’s expanding climate leadership. Catholic institutions’ ongoing divestment from fossil fuels, investment in renewable energy projects across dioceses worldwide, and grassroots initiatives aimed at mobilising parish communities are among the showcased faith-led solutions to protect both people and the planet.
Earlier this year, I joined diverse faith leaders from across Nigeria – Muslim clerics, traditional custodians, and Christian pastors – at the Interfaith Dialogue on Climate Change Summit, hosted by Connected Development (CODE). Despite our theological differences, we found a remarkable consensus: each of our faiths teaches that we are not masters of the earth but part of its sacred web. That care for creation is a sacred responsibility, rooted in divine command. From Sheikh Nurudeen Lemu’s teachings on khalifa – the Islamic call to stewardship – to ancestral African practices that honored the forests and rivers as sacred, we recognized that our religious traditions already carry the seeds of ecological wisdom.
The summit produced concrete recommendations for Nigeria’s government to integrate faith leaders into climate policy – not as peripheral voices, but as essential partners. The interfaith summit presented a foundational place for cultural and spiritual resonance needed to confront the reality of existing climate policies which often fail not because they are poorly written, but because they lack interfaith backing for larger acceptance.
This year, declared by the late Pope Francis as a Jubilee Year for Catholics all around the world – a sacred time of restoration, forgiveness, and renewed covenant with creation – we face a providential opportunity. Pope Francis’s recent passing left behind a profound environmental legacy. This Jubilee Year with its theme “Pilgrims of Hope,” encourages interfaith engagement and action on climate change, especially for those most vulnerable. What better moment for faith leaders to advance bold climate action?
This Year of Jubilee establishes heightened expectations for religious leadership, challenging Francis’s successors and leaders of all faiths to transcend rhetoric and implement concrete ecological commitments in their communities. It calls us to ecological conversion and systems change, to restore balance to our common home and relief to those suffering most from environmental degradation. The timing couldn’t be more apt for the rise of interfaith climate leadership.
Our faith compels us to amplify voices that power structures silence – not only human voices but also the wordless testimony of forests, rivers, and creatures that cannot speak for themselves. They too bear the Creator’s signature. Let our mosques, churches, temples and shrines become centres of environmental action. Let our prayers ignite a green awakening that transforms Nigeria and beyond.
The climate crisis may be the greatest moral challenge of our time. But I believe that faith – with its power to inspire, mobilise, and sustain – may also be its most powerful solution. The Jubilee Year of 2025 calls us to this sacred task with renewed urgency and hope – all rooted in interfaith collaboration.
By Rev. Fr. Atta Barkindo (PhD), Director, The Kukah Centre: Faith, Leadership and Public Policy
Africa’s richest man and industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has expressed commitment to empowering Nigerian engineers and building local capacity through large-scale industrial projects.
Aliko Dangote with members of the Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE)
Dangote gave the assurance while receiving a delegation from the Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery at Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, on Monday, May 19, 2025.
He said that the scale of the refinery was more than initial expectations.
He said: “Honestly, if we had fully understood the magnitude and challenges involved, we may not have even attempted it, but it is because we didn’t know what we were into initially and the courage, or maybe, naivety that got us this far.”
He noted that the refinery was designed to handle massive volumes, with up to 600 product vessels and about 240 crude oil tankers expected annually.
Dangote said that challenges faced during the construction, included working on swampy terrain, extensive land clearing, and dredging 65 million cubic metres of sand from 20 kilometres offshore.
He said that all were in an effort to protect local fishing communities.
“We had to uproot thousands of trees manually. Sand-filling alone took 18 months but we made a deliberate decision to preserve the livelihoods of those living nearby, especially fishermen,” he said.
When asked by an engineer how Nigerian professionals could be given more opportunities and how they could take destiny into their own hands, Dangote said: “We appreciate that.
“There are many more projects coming, and with them, we will continue to develop our engineering base.
“Even when we don’t have enough jobs to give, we must still train people.
“Skills are assets — whether they are used here or abroad. We want Nigeria to earn from exporting knowledge, not just oil.”
He said that while the project was initially planned for up to 50,000 foreign workers, it eventually used only 12,000–14,000 expatriates.
Dangote said that the majority of the company’s workforce – including fitters, welders and engineers – were Nigerians.
“Eighty-five per cent of the commissioning work was done by Nigerians. It is not because I am an engineer, but because they have proven to be among the best.
“Today, we are our own EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractors. We are building this country ourselves,” he said.
He urged members of NSE branch to see the visit as a step toward aligning with a national vision of self-sufficiency and industrial excellence.
The Chairman, NSE Lagos Branch, Mrs Olukorede Kesha, described the refinery as an engineering breakthrough for Africa.
She commended Dangote’s initiative, saying that the refinery was the first of its kind in Africa.
“The NSE exists to ensure continuous professional development, and this visit is part of that goal.
“We have heard so much about the refinery, but seeing it ourselves has been extraordinary.”
She praised the high level of Nigerians’ involvement in the refinery, saying that local manpower was more than foreign expertise.
“If we have more of this kind of development in Nigeria, unemployment and poverty would be in the past.
“We are extremely proud of what we have seen. Nigerians are taking the lead here,” she said.
Kesha emphasised that such industrial initiatives would not only help to address domestic challenges, but could also position Nigeria as an exporter of both products and professional expertise.
The NSE delegates also toured the Lagos Calabar Coastal Highway project, describing it as “an enormous national asset.”
In a related development, Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals has reaffirmed that, despite the fluctuations in global crude oil prices, it has consistently reduced the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.
The company, in a release signed by its Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, said the decision to maintain price stability reflects its unwavering commitment to supporting the Nigerian economy and alleviating the burden on consumers from the increase in fuel prices by maintaining price stability.
The decision, Dangote said, underscores its dedication to providing affordable, reliable, and high-quality petroleum products without compromising operational efficiency and sustainability.
“Our approach aligns with the objectives of the Federal Government’s Nigeria First policy, which promotes the prioritisation of locally-produced goods and services.
“By refining petroleum products domestically at the world’s largest single-train refinery, we are proud to make a substantial contribution to Nigeria’s energy security, foreign exchange savings, and overall economic resilience – aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which is focused on addressing the nation’s economic challenges and improving the well-being of Nigerians.
“We are immensely grateful to His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, for making this possible through the commendable Naira-for-Crude Initiative, which has enabled us to consistently reduce the price of petroleum products for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
The company assured all stakeholders – consumers, partners, and the government – of its continuous dedication to operational excellence and national service.
“Dangote Petroleum Refinery remains committed to ensuring that the benefits of our local refining capacity are fully realised and enjoyed by the Nigerian populace. We will continue to prioritise affordability, quality, and national interest in every facet of our work.”
In a continent striving for energy access and industrial development, Africa continues to lose billions of dollars in potential revenue by flaring its natural gas – a practice that remains entrenched largely due to infrastructure shortfalls and outdated economic incentives.
Gas flaring
Making a presentation on “Flare Gas Utilisation: The Importance of Mid-Scale Integrated Gas Commercialisation Solutions,” Nmesoma Okereke, Sales Manager and Flare Gas Recovery Specialist at Neuman & Esser, underscored the urgency of addressing this paradox through modern, scalable gas monetisation strategies.
“The most important reason for gas flaring is a lack of infrastructure, but also cost inefficiencies,” said Okereke. “In the past, it was more economically feasible to flare gas than develop or commercialise the gas. That is no longer the case with the rise of innovative gas solutions.”
Three of the world’s top nine gas-flaring countries are in Africa, said Okereke, collectively responsible for an estimated 60% of the continent’s gas flaring. Nigeria alone flared roughly 193 billion cubic feet of gas in 2024, while producing 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas. That volume of wasted gas represents a market value of $1 billion – at a time when around 40% of the country’s population lacks access to electricity.
Nigeria’s case study illustrates the dual challenge of wasted resources and unmet energy demand. According to Okereke, Nigeria needs five times its current domestic gas supply to reach its goal of 30 GW of power by 2030.
With flaring becoming less economically justifiable due to emerging technologies and modular gas utilisation options, Okereke emphasised the need to shift toward mid-scale integrated solutions that can bridge the infrastructure gap and bring gas to market more quickly and efficiently.
