By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Minister of Environment, Mrs Amina Mohammed, has disclosed that the Federal Government would raise about $63 million (about N20 billion) to carry out renewable energy projects in the country.
Mrs Mohammed, speaking in an interview on Friday in Abuja, explained that the money would be sourced from the sale of bonds by the government.
According to her, this would be done before the end of the first quarter of next year.
She said money raised from the sale of the green bonds would be used to carry out solar power projects, fund an electric-vehicle commuter project in the city and tree-planting in the north.
“We are on track to sell the bond in the first quarter, a sovereign, and could have another by the end of the year,” Mrs Mohammed said.
According to the Minister, her ministry is targeting off-grid solar-power projects producing as much as 1,200 megawatts in northern part of Nigeria.
She noted that, “The exchequer can’t get all the money we need, we must leverage these innovative ways to get funds from the international community.”
Mrs Mohammed said further that proceeds from the green bonds will also support environment-friendly projects in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, where she said government aims to eliminate gas flaring by 2019.