On July 15, at a Twitter Space organised by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) and Budgit Nigeria, speakers focused on what needs to be done to turn the country’s gas expansion plans into reality.
The speakers highlighted that Nigeria’s decade of gas initiative aims to expand and leverage the country’s gas resources for the energy transition. However, to achieve a gas-based transition, Nigeria must make realistic decisions about realities related to resources and the needed financing.
Although many policies have been formulated based on gas frameworks, this has not taken the country to where it should be in terms of establishing gas infrastructure and investments., leading to its gas expansion plans.
Community involvement
The Executive Director at the Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI), Olusegun Elemo, said that policy implementation needs the involvement of subnational actors who are also eager and willing to drive implementation and community ownership, especially in communities affected by the exploration and exploitation of natural gas resources. He called attention that some community actors are often left out of plans and projects in several communities.
So, the optimum results are not realised at the end of the day. He said all actors must be involved in all processes and plans. He says a common problem with oil and gas regimes is the lack of related socio-economic benefits across all social strata.
For Elemo, it would be a disservice for the gas regime to turn out like the oil regime, where crude has been drilled and exploited for decades. Yet, the core communities and other parts have not experienced progress and socio-economic development. He stated, “All the federating units must be a part of the gas expansion plan so they can also take responsibility.”
Media credibility
The Project Manager at the Center of Journalism and Development, Felicia Dairo, said that since the media is the go-to place for information, it is important for everyone in the media space to understand the realities of Nigeria’s gas expansion plans. This is important to provide credible information and enable the general populace to better understand the decade of gas initiative.
According to her, the country’s Journalists should get involved in capacity building to understand the information they are disseminating to the citizens. She said the media can communicate with Nigerians on gas expansion plans differently.
She highlighted that these can be done through feature writing, analysis, explainers, and cartoons (especially for children). She also said that credible reporting by the media will keep the government in check, and the former can take on its agenda-setting function and hold the government accountable for its gas expansion plans.
Proper planning
Meanwhile, Enebi Opaluwa, Senior Research and Policy Analyst at Budgit Nigeria said that expanding gas in the country without proper methane management planning may prove fatal to the public. He also said that over-reliance on gas may blur economic diversification efforts. According to him, building gas production capacity projects are capital intensive.
He also highlighted land acquisition issues and environmental degradation, which can arise if the country focuses too much on natural gas. He further highlighted how Nigeria’s rising debt profile could negatively impact the country’s bankability of natural gas projects.
According to him, Nigeria can move its gas expansion plans forward by turning them from bogus plans to addressing stakeholder concerns and providing environmental safeguards. He also highlighted gas flaring reduction efforts while insisting that domestic gas prices must be competitive to attract investments.