President Bola Tinubu says Nigeria is taking a significant step towards a sustainable and eco-friendly future through its pioneering initiative to deploy a fleet of 100 electric buses.

Presidential aide Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement on Saturday in Abuja that the president disclosed this at a meeting with stakeholders and investors in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Mr Tinubu was speaking on the Nigeria Carbon Market and Electric Buses Rollout Programme on the margins of the COP28 climate summit.

The president explained that the strategic initiative was to reduce Nigeria’s carbon footprint and modernise the country’s transportation systems.

This, Mr Tinubu said, was part of a larger effort to position Nigeria and Africa as the pioneering frontier of green manufacturing and industrialisation with a focus on natural gas as a transition fuel alongside other renewable energy sources.

To spearhead this transformative plan, the president announced the appointment of two co-chairs for the Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Plan.

The two are the chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, and the DG of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Dahiru Salisu.

”We recognise the imperative of fostering an environment that not only attracts investment but also upholds standardised and sustainable industrial practices.

‘’As a manifestation of our forward-thinking approach, we are actively looking to implement robust, enabling policies and frameworks that will serve as the catalyst for the burgeoning growth of the carbon market within our national borders.

”In further driving my commitment, I have recently approved an Inter-governmental Committee on Carbon Markets to be chaired by the executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the director-general of the National Council on Climate Change to drive this visionary plan,” the president said.

Mr Tinubu assured prospective investors that this initiative transcends being a mere pilot project.

The president, while acknowledging the pressing need for a comprehensive global collaboration on climate-related challenges, called on international partners to join hands in accelerating collective efforts towards a net-zero future.

In his remarks, the FIRS chairman acknowledged the visionary leadership of Mr Tinubu as the guiding force behind Nigeria’s commitment to harnessing its vast carbon potential.

Mr Adedeji pledged the full commitment of the committee to drive the implementation of efficient policies and frameworks to achieve sustainable carbon market growth.

(NAN)