The Minister of State for Energy, Mr. Goddy Jedy-Agba called on the United Nations (UN) to make additional financial support available to intervene in the electricity sector.

The minister made the call recently when he paid a courtesy visit to UN Under-Secretary-General Amina Mohammed in New York, United States.

Jedy-Agba had traveled last week with a delegation including the Director General / Director General of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Mr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, as part of the Nigerian delegation to the 76th session underway. the United Nations General Assembly.

While congratulating Mohammed for the role she played in several UN interventions in the country, the minister however appealed for the continued support of the organization in Nigeria.

The Minister reiterated that one of the main challenges facing the country’s power sector was funding, thus calling on the UN to vote more funds for Nigeria to develop the sector.

“Once again, I want to congratulate you and congratulate you on all that you have done since your appointment, especially for your dear country, Nigeria. You really made the country proud and we are happy to have a good ambassador like you here.

Our energy challenges are not new to you, because you have been part of the system and have worked with the relevant authorities to overcome them. But let me add to what you already know about the issue that funding is our major problem. We want to call on you and the UN to please, to support our country with more funds. Electricity is the main engine of the economy. We believe that if we fix our energy sector, every sector of the economy will take shape. Investors will come in, our GDP will increase and our teeming young people will have paid jobs, ”he added. he said.

While maintaining that if Nigeria’s power sector is repaired, the blackout in Africa as a whole would be largely resolved, however he added that, “President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is investing heavily in renewables because we believe that is the future.

“Over the past two years, the government has completed several projects in the renewable energy sector while several others are at different stages of completion. The president asked us to focus more on rural areas, because we need to give meaning to the lives of those who reside in rural areas. We need to help their small and medium-sized businesses grow, ”he said.

In response, Mohammed thanked the minister and his team visit and pledged to continue to do his best for the country and the world as a whole.