- Stakeholders call for urgent, realistic reassessment of Nigeria’s “Decade of Gas” strategy as implementation challenges persist.
- Experts emphasise execution, governance, and collaboration as critical to unlocking gas-driven economic growth and energy access.
The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), with support from The Electricity Hub, convened policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society actors in Abuja for the NRGI Validation Workshop: Assessing Nigeria’s Gas Ambitions Towards Achieving a More Sustainable Energy Future.
Delivering goodwill remarks, Nafisatu Naa-Lamiokor Chinery stressed that natural resource endowment alone does not guarantee economic transformation. “Resources do not transform economies, decisions do,” she said. “Ambitions must match reality. Plans must rest on credible assumptions, align with market realities, and rely on strong institutions.”
She urged stakeholders to prioritise development outcomes and ensure that energy strategies, across gas and renewables, deliver clean, affordable, and reliable energy while driving inclusive economic growth.
Chinery also emphasised the importance of collaboration: “No single actor, government, private sector, or civil society, can navigate this transition alone. We need collective effort, shared accountability, and open dialogue.”
She described the “Decade of Gas” as a test of execution and governance and encouraged participants to use the workshop to challenge assumptions and refine Nigeria’s strategic direction.
In his remarks, Emeka Okpukpara described the initiative as a bold strategy to deploy gas as a transition fuel to support industrialisation, expand energy access, and reduce reliance on more carbon-intensive fuels. “We are halfway through this decade, and ambition alone is not enough. It is time for an honest assessment, what is working and what is not,” he said.
Emeka identified key barriers, including infrastructure gaps, financing constraints, and bottlenecks in policy, regulation, pricing, and execution, noting that these continue to limit domestic gas utilisation despite Nigeria’s significant reserves.
He highlighted the scale of opportunity if these constraints are addressed: “When we get this right, the upside is significant, more gas to power, stronger industrial growth, improved energy security, and real economic value.”
Furthermore, he mentioned that effective implementation could unlock up to $14 billion in investment, create over 2 million jobs, and generate approximately $12 billion annually in gas revenues, while strengthening gas supply to the power sector and increasing on-grid generation over time.
Emeka highlighted the urgency of action, pointing to Nigeria’s development realities, including over 130 million people living below the poverty line and a power sector where about 85% of installed capacity is thermal. “This session is not just about validating a report, it is about pressure-testing assumptions and aligning ambition with reality,” he said.
He also encouraged participants to adopt a broader definition of sustainability that integrates environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and to address critical questions on avoiding stranded assets, maximising domestic value creation, and ensuring inclusive benefits from the energy transition.
The workshop built on NRGI’s analytical work and leveraged insights from stakeholders across policy, regulation, and industry. Participants engaged in open dialogue aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s gas strategy through evidence-based collaboration.
Stakeholders will continue discussions with a focus on generating actionable recommendations to support a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable energy future for Nigeria.