By Modupe Gbadeyanka

President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that Federal Government will finally launch the first African Sovereign Green Bond in December 2017.

The green bond was initiated in Nigeria by the former Minister of Environment, Mrs Amina Mohammed, who is now the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations.

The green bond was supposed to be launched in the middle of this year, but it never happened.

About N20 billion is expected to be generated from the first tranche of the exercise, while the second tranche is about the same amount and would be used to fund renewable energy, transport and agriculture projects in the country.

Speaking during his 2018 budget presentation at the National Assembly on Tuesday, President Buhari said the bond would be finally launched next month.

“Distinguished members of the National Assembly, this administration is committed to the development of Green Alternative Energy Sources. To date, we have signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with 14 solar companies.

“We also approved the completion of the 10 MW Wind Farm in Katsina State, a project that was abandoned since 2012; and the concession of 6 small hydro-electric power plants with a total capacity of 50 MW.

“To enable the successful take-off of these, and future Green Projects, I am pleased to inform this distinguished assembly that the Federal Government will be launching the first African Sovereign Green Bond in December 2017.

“The bond will be used to finance renewable energy projects. We are very excited about this development as it will go a long way in solving many of our energy challenges, especially in the hinterland,” the President said.

In January this year, the former Minister of Environment, Mr Amina Mohammed, held a debut green bond public private advisory group meeting in Lagos in partnership with the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun.

According to her, the green bond will help Nigeria tap into the growing global market for green bonds which is estimated to have reached $100 billion by the end of 2016.

On February 24, 2017, the Federal Government held a meeting with investors concerning the green bond and the meeting took place at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) headquarters.

The theme for the summit was ‘Green Bonds: Investing in Nigeria’s Sustainable Development’ and participants were told the importance of the bonds.