Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said less than half of the people in the ECOWAS region have access to modern energy services and consistently deprived of the full benefits of electricity for socio-economic development.

According to Dr Bawumia, if the challenges of low electricity access are not curbed as soon as possible, there are strong indications that it will be impossible to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Dr Bawumia, therefore, urged African leaders to lift their people out of poverty by providing them with the right infrastructure and systems needed for their development.

The Vice-President said this at the opening of the 3rd ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF) and Exhibition organised by ECOWAS in collaboration with the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), Ghana’s Ministry of Energy and key development partners, in Accra on Tuesday, 22 October 2019.

Dr Bawumia indicated that six years after regional policies on renewable energy and energy efficiency were adopted by ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, the forum will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to take stock of progress to date.