NIGERIAN President Bola Tinubu will, on Sunday, January 26, travel to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 2025, to participate in the Africa Heads of State Energy Summit.
The two-day event, scheduled for January 27-28, 2025, is being hosted by the Tanzanian government in collaboration with the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the World Bank, according to a statement by the president’s special adviser on information and strategy Bayo Onanuga.
The statement released on Saturday, January 25, noted that the summit is aimed at advancing Mission 300, an initiative to provide electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030.
It noted that the summit will bring together African leaders, private sector representatives, development partners, and civil society groups to strategise on expanding energy access across the continent.
According to the statement, discussions at the summit will focus on accelerating energy access in underserved regions, renewable energy development, energy efficiency, and fostering private sector investment.
“On the first day, at the ministerial level, participating countries, including Nigeria, will present their national energy strategies, termed compacts, detailing their approaches to achieving universal energy access within five years.
“On the second day, Heads of State will endorse the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration, outlining a unified roadmap for Africa’s progress towards the Mission 300 objectives,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, Onanuga stated that the president is expected to deliver a national address, reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to universal energy access and its leadership in the African energy sector.
The President will be accompanied by key officials, including the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu; and the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen.
Tinubu is scheduled to return to Abuja following the conclusion of the summit, but the date was not mentioned.
This latest trip is coming a few days after the president returned from the United Arab Emirates, where he participated in the 2025 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW).
The ICIR reported how Tinubu and his vice president, Kashim Shettima, pocketed N1.7 billion respectively as honorariums outside their regular salaries as of September 2024.
This was according to data from GovSpend, a portal tracking the government’s expenditures.
The ICIR findings showed that the N1.7 billion could cover a month’s salary of 24,511 civil servants, based on Nigeria’s national minimum wage of N70,000.
In addition, the president and his vice, including the first lady, have spent N6.8 billion on foreign trips and related expenses this year. The data which was accessed by The ICIR on October 11, 2024, captured money spent by the government till September 15, 2024.
These expenditures were recorded amid nationwide frustration due to economic hardship triggered by President Tinubu’s economic policies, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of exchange rates.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M