FG Planning $50bn Funding for Domestic Biofuel Industry – CBN

by Ifeanyi Lawrence-Agbai (Today) The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Tuesday disclosed that the federal government would invest about $50 billion to the development of a domestic biofuel industry which would serve as an alternative energy source for Nigeria.

It said the $50 billion biofuel fund would be contributed by different government agencies and development banks including the Bank of Industry (BoI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), that are relevant to the development of a vibrant domestic biofuel industry for Nigeria.

Emefiele (The Governor of CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele) in his speech explained that in addition to earning very good income from a vibrant domestic biofuel industry, Nigeria could also rely on it to provide her alternative clean fuel, reduce her level of fuel importation, and conserve her foreign exchange.

He said: “Fossil fuels have been and will continue to be the dominant source of energy for sometimes, but this category of fuels are non-renewable and raise environmental concerns because they pollute the environment while others are renewable, non-polluting and therefore regarded as clean, thus, they present a viable alternative to fossil fuel and if properly harnessed can be very beneficial.”

Similarly, Kachikwu explained that the biofuel policy which stakeholders are reviewing, was designed to help Nigeria take advantage of the potentials in her agricultural sector to create a biomass-based fuel economy.

He noted that the policy will enable the biofuel industry work hand-in-hand with the country’s petroleum industry to sustain production and distribution of bioethanol and biodiesels across the country. READ MORE and MORE (AllAfrica)