The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Ije Ikoku Okeke, has been appointed a commissioner by the Global Commission for the Eradication of Energy Poverty (GCEEP) under the management of US-based Rockefeller Foundation.
The appointment is in a renewed drive by the global body to end what it describes as one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, lack of access to electricity for almost a billion people across the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
The commission is co-chaired by Ernest Moniz, Professor of Physics & Engineering Systems Emeritus MIT, and former US Secretary of Energy; President of the Rockefeller Foundation and former USAID Administrator, Dr. Rajiv Shah; and President of Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina.
The announcement of Okeke’s appointment followed the first full convening of the commissioners at the launch of the commission held in Italy on September 10, 2019.
The Rockefeller Foundation announced the launch of the GCEEP on September 12, 2019.
Okeke will work with other experts to bring electricity to over 850 million people who live without access to energy.
The World Bank reports that 650 million people will still lack energy in 2030, falling far short of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. About 90% of the 650 million people live in sub-Saharan Africa.
President of Rockefeller Foundation and the commission’s chairman Dr. Shah said, “Now it is time to unleash the full potential of distributed energy by integrating the strengths of grid and off-grid systems in order to enable large-scale public-private partnerships.”
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