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wPOWER helps Promotes Women’s Critical Role in Clean Energy Solutions to Climate Change
WASHINGTON – In honor of Gender Day” at the annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-19), the United States is highlighting its actions to harness the potential of women and women’s networks to increase the use of clean energy technologies, which in turn helps reduce climate change. The Department of State launched the Partnership on Women’s Entrepreneurship in Renewables (“wPOWER”) in January 2013. wPOWER aims to empower more than 8,000 women clean energy entrepreneurs across East Africa, Nigeria and India who will deliver clean energy access to more than 3.5 million people over the next three years.
To reach this goal, the Department of State and USAID have teamed up with the MacArthur Foundation, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, CARE International, Solar Sister, Swayam Shikshan Prayog and the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace & Environmental Studies.
Globally, more than 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity, and at least 2.7 billion people lack access to clean cookstoves and fuels. While not the primary source of climate pollution, inefficient lighting and cooking contribute to climate change and the degradation of natural resources. In off-grid communities, women are the primary users of clean technologies like solar lamps and clean cookstoves and are at the forefront of adopting the use of new technologies. wPOWER is working to unlock this largely untapped potential of women and women’s groups to help fill the “last mile” gap in the supply chain to reach areas lacking energy access.
Recent wPOWER accomplishments include:
• Launch of wPOWER Hub at Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace & Environmental Studies (WMI): The Department of State, together with parallel support from the MacArthur Foundation, has created a wPOWER Hub at the WMI, founded by the late Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai, at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. The new wPOWER Hub will build the evidence base on women, energy access and climate solutions; hold train the trainer workshops; facilitate African and Indian women entrepreneur and leadership exchanges to build a network of women climate leaders, and build public awareness.
New Strategic Partners:
• Women for Women International (WfWI): WfWI provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency. WfWI will work with wPOWER partners to begin offering a clean energy entrepreneurship vocational track to the women who are part of its program in Nigeria.
• Green Belt Movement-Kenya (GBM): Professor Wangari Maathai’s GBM pioneered a community-based tree-planting approach that put women at the forefront of environmental stewardship. By partnering with some of GBM’s 4,000 community groups, we will expand wPOWER networks of women clean energy entrepreneurs and introduce new livelihood opportunities to GBM’s grassroots women leaders.
WASHINGTON – In honor of “Gender Day” at the annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-19), the United States is highlighting its actions to harness the potential of women and women’s networks to increase the use of clean energy technologies, which in turn helps reduce climate change.
The Department of State launched the Partnership on Women’s Entrepreneurship in Renewables (“wPOWER”) in January 2013. wPOWER aims to empower more than 8,000 women clean energy entrepreneurs across East Africa, Nigeria and India who will deliver clean energy access to more than 3.5 million people over the next three years.
To reach this goal, the Department of State and USAID have teamed up with the MacArthur Foundation, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, CARE International, Solar Sister, Swayam Shikshan Prayog and the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace & Environmental Studies.
Globally, more than 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity, and at least 2.7 billion people lack access to clean cookstoves and fuels. While not the primary source of climate pollution, inefficient lighting and cooking contribute to climate change and the degradation of natural resources. In off-grid communities, women are the primary users of clean technologies like solar lamps and clean cookstoves and are at the forefront of adopting the use of new technologies. wPOWER is working to unlock this largely untapped potential of women and women’s groups to help fill the “last mile” gap in the supply chain to reach areas lacking energy access.
Recent wPOWER accomplishments include:
• Launch of wPOWER Hub at Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace & Environmental Studies (WMI): The Department of State, together with parallel support from the MacArthur Foundation, has created a wPOWER Hub at the WMI, founded by the late Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai, at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. The new wPOWER Hub will build the evidence base on women, energy access and climate solutions; hold train the trainer workshops; facilitate African and Indian women entrepreneur and leadership exchanges to build a network of women climate leaders, and build public awareness.
New Strategic Partners:
• Women for Women International (WfWI): WfWI provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency. WfWI will work with wPOWER partners to begin offering a clean energy entrepreneurship vocational track to the women who are part of its program in Nigeria.
• Green Belt Movement-Kenya (GBM): Professor Wangari Maathai’s GBM pioneered a community-based tree-planting approach that put women at the forefront of environmental stewardship. By partnering with some of GBM’s 4,000 community groups, we will expand wPOWER networks of women clean energy entrepreneurs and introduce new livelihood opportunities to GBM’s grassroots women leaders.
Embattled Nigerian pastor and founder of SPAC Nation, Tobi Adegboyega, has defended his opulent lifestyle, claiming it serves to inspire young people rather than flaunt wealth.
This statement comes amid a UK Immigration Upper Tribunal ruling ordering his deportation over visa violations.
Adegboyega, 44, faced accusations of overstaying his visitor visa, which expired after he arrived in the UK in 2005.
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He had applied to remain in the country on human rights grounds. The tribunal, however, ruled against him, citing his failure to regularize his status.
The pastor’s luxurious lifestyle, including designer clothing and expensive cars, was a focal point of the case.
Addressing the tribunal, Adegboyega stated that his lifestyle is fully funded by his wife, Mary Olubukola Alade, who earns £100,000 annually at AON.
He said, “I live with my partner, Mary Olubukola Alade, who earns £100,000 per year working for AON. I spend my time working for the church, for which I am unpaid. I am entirely supported by Mary. I have a first-class law degree from Nigeria, but I have ‘sacrificed’ my legal career to help those who cannot help themselves.”
Defending his appearance, Adegboyega emphasized the importance of projecting success to his young congregation.
The court noted, “For instance, people have pointed to the fact that he wears designer clothing and drives expensive cars. He was adamant that all of his personal possessions had been paid for by Mary.
“He believes it is important for him to dress the way that he does because he needs to inspire these young people – they need to understand that there are legitimate ways of making money, for instance through entrepreneurship.”
Despite the ruling, Adegboyega dismissed the deportation concerns as insignificant.
“I’m right here at home, no cause for alarm. Naturally, I will dismiss things that have to do with retrogression; every Nigerian should be proud of me. Living in the UK, a city that is well known for pulling people down, I have survived all sorts, so the matter that they are propagating is the smallest matter,” he said.
He further expressed confidence in his resilience. “No panic, I love London city, it is my city, and nobody can do anything. Of all the people of colour you know here – pastors and leaders – I have survived everything. I’m here, I am at home, nobody should panic for me.
“I succeeded well in this country despite all challenges, and I’m in the league of people you look up to. I have survived that well; nothing has changed, nothing will change,” he added.
Amid the growing controversy surrounding the detention of human rights lawyer Dele Farotimi, renowned Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Aare Afe Babalola has publicly addressed the defamation allegations leveled against Farotimi.
The legal action stems from claims made in Farotimi’s book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, which Babalola asserts contains false and defamatory statements about him and his law firm, Afe Babalola & Co.
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In a petition dated November 19 and submitted to the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Adeniran Akinwale, Babalola accused Farotimi of making “criminally defamatory” statements about him, his law firm, and two senior lawyers at his firm, Olu Daramola SAN and Ola Faro.
The defamatory remarks are tied to the Supreme Court case Major Muritala Gbadamosi Eletu & Ors v. H.R.H. Oba Tijani Akinloye & Ors.
Babalola revealed that the allegations came to light when one of his lawyers purchased Farotimi’s book while traveling through Murtala Muhammed Airport.
After reading the book, the lawyer immediately brought its contents to Babalola’s attention.
Other members of his firm reportedly did the same, prompting the senior lawyer to take legal action.
In his petition, Babalola pointed to specific passages in Farotimi’s book that accused him of corruption and unethical conduct. The petition reads:
“I write to report the criminal defamation of myself, my law firm Afe Babalola & Co., and my lawyers, Olu Daramola SAN and Ola Faro, by one Dele Farotimi in his book titled ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’, published by Dele Farotimi Publishers, in respect of Suit No. SC/146/2005: Major Muritala Gbadamosi Eletu & Ors v. H.R.H. Oba Tijani Akinloye & Ors.
“Sometime on 2/11/2024, one of our lawyers, while traveling through Murtala Muhammed Airport, bought a book by Dele Farotimi titled ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’. He read the book and immediately brought it to my attention. Many of my lawyers also bought the book and read it.”
“The defamatory statements are as follows:
- That Aare Afe Babalola corrupted the Supreme Court to procure a fraudulent judgment in the service of his client.
- That Aare Afe Babalola, Olu Daramola, Olu Faro, and the law offices of Afe Babalola & Co. (Emmanuel Chambers) compromised the Supreme Court and the remaining semblance of integrity it might have had, when they went back to the Supreme Court and got the Court to swim in the sewer of corruption and shameful self-abnegation.”
Babalola strongly denies the allegations, claiming that they are false and damaging to both his personal reputation and the integrity of the Nigerian judiciary.
Nigerian author and activist Dele Farotimi’s book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, has surged to bestseller status on Amazon amid a legal battle with prominent lawyer and businessman, Afe Babalola.
The controversy surrounding the book has captivated public attention, driving both online and offline demand.
The book, which critiques systemic corruption in Nigeria’s judiciary and highlights alleged misconduct by key legal figures, saw modest sales following its release in July 2024.
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However, Farotimi’s arrest on Tuesday, following a petition filed by the 93-year-old Babalola, triggered a wave of public curiosity.
By Thursday evening, it had climbed to the top of Amazon’s bestseller rankings, according to checks by Vanguard. Bookstores across Nigeria also reported a significant uptick in demand.
Biztellers reports that Farotimi was detained in Lagos by armed police officers and transported to Ado Ekiti, about 300 kilometers northeast of the city, where Babalola is based.
The senior lawyer alleged that the book accused him of compromising Nigeria’s judiciary—a claim that has sparked heated debates about freedom of speech and accountability in the legal profession.
On Wednesday, Farotimi was arraigned in an Ekiti court, where the judge ordered his remand pending a bail hearing scheduled for December 10.
Farotimi’s legal team has vowed to contest the charges, framing the case as an attack on intellectual freedom.
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