Samuel Ode, deputy governor of Benue State, who led a delegation to the Green Conference and agreement-signing with GreenPlinth Africa Limited, spoke with ZEBULON AGOMUO on the sidelines of the event in Lagos. Excerpts:
The Green Conference centred on preserving the environment. How remarkable is the event to you as individual and your state?
Well, one remarkable thing that has taken place at this conference is that the state government has signed a memorandum of agreement with GreenPlinth Africa towards the decarbonisation efforts. And for us, this is quite fundamental. We’re going to comply with global best practice in this direction and we’re hoping that it will be for the benefit of mankind.
So, how sustainable is it going to be?
Well, there’s a sustainable plan to make sure that, you know, the deforestation that has taken place, we’re going to plant more trees, we’re going to give greater access to people who are in the rural areas to have clean energy, and then that will sustain the environment.
The cleanstoves are to be distributed to rural women; how significant is this to the women in your state?
We have in Benue 23 local governments and 276 council wards. It is our strategy that we will use the council wards, you know, as distribution points for these cleanstoves. And the essence is to make sure that the poor of the poorest, the people who are vulnerable, the people who have no access to energy at the rural area will be the major beneficiaries of this initiative. As we do this, the felling of trees for energy and all other debilitating factors that have affected the environment will be mitigated.
Do you think that the initiative, in any way, will have an impact on farmer-header clashes in Benue?
Yeah, definitely. One of the factors that is responsible for the conflict between farmers and headers, you know, is the search for water and, of course, the green environment. The pastoralists, you know, move their livestock, they feed on the foliage, the green foliage in the Benue Valley. And so, we believe strongly that with this, you know, there will be a preservation of the environment.
We talk about dangers of deforestation and all that, Benue is a food basket; I understand that without green vegetation you can’t achieve the food basket. Today, you have Zeva Brewery, Juice Plant, among others in the state; what importance does Benue place on growing mangoes, oranges and all these fruits that make the environment green?
For us, backward integration is a major plank of our plan. Whether in out grower schemes for rice, you know, for all kinds of crops, our intention would be backward integration. We are building the industrial sector. You’ve just spoken about our brewery. It’s our desire that in the shortest possible time, all the inputs, you know, in terms of raw material, all our industries will be sourced from Benue. We have just recently also introduced the organic Benue rice, which is indigenous to us. We intend to, you know, raise an out-grower scheme that will empower the local farmers, the rural people, to plant rice and, of course, every other food crops that will feed our industries.
You led a delegation from Benue State to the Green Conference. The delegation has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with GreenPlinth. What level of importance do you attach to issues around mitigating climate change and to the MOA?
This is very important to us as Benue State Government. The state government has established a CNG-refueling and vehicle conversion facility in our state capital. To further demonstrate our commitment to transition into clean energy use, we recently flagged off a 90-megawatt waste-to-energy project under a public-private partnership with sector leads. I’d like to call upon investors and solution providers to see Benue as a frontier for green opportunity. We are ready to become one of the pioneers in this sector. We welcome development partners to deepen collaboration, particularly at the sub-national level in building a resilient, low-carbon, and inclusive economy.
The state government is providing opportunity to access climate finance for implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies for our state. For all of this, we cannot take this partnership for granted, we appreciate. We have equally entered into an agreement with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), to expand our rural electrification via a clean energy source. I once more want to place on record our appreciation to GreenPlinth Africa for the opportunity of this collaboration towards a sustainable and prosperous Nigeria and indeed African continent.
Three North Central states of Benue, Niger and Nasarawa have been in the forefront for this agreement. How does that come to you and what is your general message at this event?
It is very significant that the three states that are represented here are all Noth Central. It shows that in the middle of Nigeria we have a collection of sub-nationals that are very serious about conversation about climate change. So, I congratulate all of them. I congratulate the representatives of the Governors of Niger and Nasarawa states. Again, I want to pay very special tribute to GreenPlinth Africa and all the partners and stakeholders who attended the Green Conference. The conversation here is something that has deep-rooted interests in the government and people of Benue State. I have demonstrated this by the delegation that I have brought here, a delegation that is led by the Deputy Governor myself. I want to say that conversation around decarbonisation is no longer optional. Indeed, it is urgent, economic, and existential. One of the efforts to decarbonise the global economy is through the energy transition, shifting from traditional fossil fuel to sustainable renewable alternatives. This transition, however, poses economic challenges to countries like Nigeria that are highly dependent on oil and gas revenues. No matter the revenue that a country generates from fossil fuels, the imperative to decarbonise the economy remains very, very strong, given its contribution to climate change. And this is a reality that is posing a threat to our very existence. Besides, it is important for Nigeria to position herself and her economy on the path of shared economic prosperity by diversifying its energy mix. This aligns with the country’s commitment as a party to the Paris Agreement. I will also say that the subnational governments who are at the conference also need to play a role in ensuring a smooth transition to a low-carbon economy. The United States, as one of them, is strategically positioned to become a model for subnational green growth in Nigeria and across Africa.
The Governor of Benue State, His Excellency the Reverend Father Dr. Hyacinth Yogan Alia.
