Business
How energy transition will affect jobs, by NEITI
Nigeria’s energy transition from hydrocarbon in 2060 may affect the over 100,000 direct jobs in the oil and gas industry, according to the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) yesterday.
The Executive Secretary, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, made this known in his speech in Abuja during the “Civil Society Organisation/Media Roundtable A Framework For Engagements on Energy Transition Cost and Impacts for Non-state Actors”, said the transition will impact on jobs.
But as reporters asked him how it would impact on jobs, the NEITI boss said, the 2022 oil and gas industry audit alone indicated that were 29,000 direct workers in the industry.
According to him, a consideration of those that were involved in the provision of goods and services in the industry could account for over 100,000 workers.
His words: ” In the oil and gas industry, for instance, our last report in 2022 shows that, oil and gas industry alone shows that over 29,000 workers, direct jobs, are working in the oil and gas industry.
Direct jobs: When I mean direct jobs, I mean those who go to work every day on those facilities. Now, if you check the indirect jobs, those who provide support services to the industry, you could be thinking that the oil and gas industry may be accounting for over 100,000 jobs directly.”
Orji also described the oil and gas as the mainstay of the host communities and the government, which depends on it for revenue. He said the global shift from fossil fuels to renewables is reshaping economies and societies everywhere.
For Nigeria, said Orji, the transition is not optional; it is inevitable.
Analysing the challenges that would come with the transition, he said “it will Challenge our fiscal planning and revenue base.”
Orji said it will deepen energy poverty if not properly managed at a time when 86 million Nigerians still lack access to electricity.
He said however, the transition also provides an opening for innovation, diversification, and a repositioned economy.
He said NEITI approached the study not as a formality, but as an urgent national necessity since the transition must be confronted with evidence, foresight, and strategy. Orji said consequently, under the
leadership of the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) and with support from the Ford Foundation, NEITI commissioned the research.
According to him, the study is not taking place in isolation as it is firmly anchored in NEITI’s Policy on Climate Change, Energy Transition and Environmental Accountability, which was developed together with
its civil society partners.
That policy, said Orji, commits NEITI to integrate climate and energy transition disclosures into its EITI reporting.
It also commits the organization to track emissions, stranded assets, and energy access
gaps.
The policy, according to him, mandates NEITI to hold government and companies accountable for
environmental justice and just transition commitments.
Meanwhile, the NSWG Alternate Chair, Ambassador Matthew Adole described the planned transition as risky to countries that are dependent on oil and gas for revenue, export, and energy consumption.
He said it was due to the recognition of the importance of the transition that the NSWG expressly approved the study to look into energy transition cost.