By Oboh Linus, Lafia
Ziva Community Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organisation, has advocated for policy reforms, gender-sensitive investments and innovation to unlock women’s full potential in the lithium and energy transition value chain in Nigeria.
Mr Samuel Pam, Team Lead, Ziva Community Initiative, made the call at a one-day Private-Public Sector Roundtable Dialogue on the Global Lithium Battery Value Chain in Lafia, the Nasarawa State Capital.
According to Pam, the dialogue with the theme: “Advancing Gender-Sensitive Renewable Energy: Expanding Women’s Participation, Adoption, and Leadership Across the Energy Value Chain in Nasarawa State aimed at highlighting opportunities for women in energy transition.
He said that despite Nasarawa State’s rich lithium deposits, which placed it at the centre of the global energy transition, women’s involvement in mining and renewable energy remains low due to systemic barriers.
Pam listed barriers that hinder women from fully participating in renewable value addition, including limited financial access and under-representation in technical and leadership roles.
He noted that Nigeria’s clean energy future must be inclusive, adding that Women should not only benefit from the transition but lead it, as innovators, investors and policymakers.
“Today’s dialogue is not just another conversation, it is a collective step toward reshaping the future of our energy and mineral landscape to be more inclusive, equitable in and sustainable.
“Here in Nasarawa, our abundance of this critical mineral places us at the centre of this global transformation. Yet, as this shift unfolds, we must ask where are the women in this value chain?
“Across Nigeria and West Africa, women remain key actors in agriculture, small-scale mining, and household energy use, but are often excluded from decision-making, investment and innovation spaces,” he stated.
Pam said that the Ziva Community Initiative was determined through the Increasing Renewable Energy Investments for the Empowerment of Women in Sustainable Agriculture and Lithium Mining in West Africa( IREEWAM) project to change that narrative.
“We are trying to come up with a conversation around how women can be involved within the lithium mining space, not just at the off-stream level but also at the downstream to add value to this mineral, especially in terms of processing, refining and sales.
“I believe that we can take up this conversation with the Government to see how these recommendations can become an inclusive policy that can accommodate everyone, including women with disabilities,’ he said.
In a keynote address, Mrs Atinuke Chammang, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to fostering a gender-sensitive approach in renewable energy transition.
“Women play a crucial role not only as consumers but also as essential contributors to the success of initiatives in sustainable agriculture and lithium mining.
‘By adopting gender-sensitive approaches to renewable energy, will not only enhance women’s participation but also ensure that their voices are integral in shaping policies and practices that drive development,” she said.
Prof. Shewonyadu Iyakwari, a Geologist at the Federal University of Lafia, in his presentation on Renewable Energy Investment in Agriculture and Mining: Prospects for Women’s Empowerment, underscored the need to strengthen policies that empower women for full participation.
Hajiya Sabo, Chairperson, Women in Mining, Nasarawa State Chapter, said the stakeholders’ dialogue allowed her to highlight challenges and barriers that women in mining and agriculture were facing.
Sabo, while applauding the group for advocating policies that would benefit women in agriculture and mining in Nasarawa State, urges the Government to make the mining environment attractive for women to fully participate.
Yusuf Dalhatu, state Chairman, Mining Association of Nigeria, commended the Ziva Community Initiative for the good work it started in the state, especially for championing the creation of women in the mining association in Nasarawa state.
The roundtable dialogue, which featured panel discussions, brought stakeholders from the Government, private sector, academia and civil society organisations, women with disabilities, was part of the IREEWAM project, with support from the Africa Centre for Energy Policy. (NAN)