The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Friday urged Nigeria to move beyond importing renewable energy technologies and instead invest in local manufacturing as well as deployment of solar and wind solutions.
Okonjo-Iweala made the call in Zaria while delivering Ahmadu Bello University’s 45th Pre-Convocation Lecture.
She said investment in renewable energy would strengthen energy security, support industrial growth, and harness job creation.
She stated that despite Africa’s vast renewable energy potential, the continent had continued to attract a disproportionately small share of global clean-energy investment.
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The WTO director-general pointed to ongoing positive developments across the continent, including growth in manufacturing, services, digital innovation, renewable energy, and mineral processing.
Okonjo-Iweala cited Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery, a Lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State, and rising Fintech and Tech. startups as examples.
She urged African countries, particularly Nigeria, to position themselves strategically to harness emerging opportunities in the evolving global geopolitical and geostrategic landscape.
