The $5 billion Africa Energy Bank building is ready for use once the APPO and Afreximbank complete the administrative and regulatory processes, the Federal Government of Nigeria has said.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said during a recent inspection visit to the facility in Abuja.
The bank has missed two scheduled timelines in January and in June this year for takeoff.
The ball is now in the court of APPO and Afreximbank to finalise commencement protocols, Lokpobiri told journalists.
“I’m happy to disclose to Nigerians, Africans and the world that Nigeria has delivered on all obligations as the host country.
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“The headquarters is ready, tastefully furnished, in the best location. We are ready for the bank to take off,” the minister revealed.
He hinted that all modalities for formal handover were being concluded.
“We will invite APPO ministers to Nigeria to show them what we promised and have fulfilled. Once they are here, we will hand it over,” Lokpobiri said.
According to him, the completion of the complex signifies that the bank’s operational launch is imminent.
“The building is ready; the bank is ready to go,” Lokpobiri added, confirming that Nigeria has met all obligations as the host country.
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Pinnacle Daily reports that Nigeria won the hosting rights for the bank’s headquarters in July 2024, after competing with Ghana, Algeria, South Africa, and the Benin Republic.
The $5 billion Africa Energy Bank is established to finance oil, gas, and clean energy projects across Africa.
It is to provide a platform for mobilising investments in oil and gas projects, vital for economic growth and development.
It aims to address long-standing financing gaps that have stalled major exploration and infrastructure projects in Africa.
“Africa has relied heavily on external financing for 70 to 100 years of oil and gas production, and that has limited our control over the industry,” APPO Secretary-General Omar Farouk Ibrahim said.
Lamenting on the lack of infrastructure, among other issues in Africa, he added, “In many producing countries, pipelines run from the fields straight to seaports for export because we are told we are too poor to buy energy.”
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
