Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has assured Nigerians of federal government’s commitment to affordable cost of energy.
Mr Sylva gave the assurance on Tuesday in Abuja at the second World Energy Day conference organised by the National Chamber Policy Centre of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).
Represented by an official of the ministry, Dipo Agboola, the minister said that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) would further support the opening up of the downstream oil sector to ensure affordable energy.
He stressed that the need to unbundle the downstream oil sector was imperative.
“We have spent so much on subsidy. However, when the downstream sector is unbundled, more business opportunities would be created. Initially the challenges might be a bit high, but over time it will definitely be in the best interest of the country,” the minister explained.
Mr Sylva added, “Take for example, the telecoms sector; when we first had the likes of MTN and Glo coming on board, a SIM card cost N18,000, but today you can get the SIM card for as low as nothing. Also, there is now competition in the telecoms sector. So, it is necessary that we ensure that energy is affordable for our citizens.”
He further noted that “when energy is affordable, we would have been able to meet some of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
(NAN)
