Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has called for support of the African Energy Bank (AEB), saying it would not only boost energy self-sufficiency but also guarantee economic sovereignty, industrialization, and inclusive growth on the continent.
Lokpobiri stressed that for Africa to build its energy future, it must stem from conscious efforts towards mobilizing significant resources for investment in oil and gas infrastructure, power generation, renewable energy initiatives, technical capacity, and institutions.
The minister stated this in his address at the 9th Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2026) in Abuja on Monday, February 2.
He warned that failure to mobilize appropriate resources to solve energy problems in Africa would compound challenges as the continent’s population grows.
Pinnacle Daily had reported that Nigeria handed over the African Energy Bank headquarters located in Abuja after its completion, signaling that the bank is ready for launch and commencement of operations by April 2026.
The bank is a joint initiative between the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) and Afreximbank, aimed at mobilizing finance for oil, gas, and renewable energy infrastructure projects across Africa. The move is also seen as a major win for African energy sovereignty, aimed at ending the continent’s reliance on Western financial institutions that have increasingly pulled funding from fossil fuel projects in compliance with emerging policies on the energy transition agenda.
Lokpobiri expressed concerns that Africa currently spends over $120 billion annually on hydrocarbons alone, specifically on the importation of refined petroleum products and other hydrocarbon-related services, “a staggering outflow of capital.”
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According to him, this level of expenditure “represents not just a financial cost, but a lost opportunity for economic transformation.”
The petroleum minister stated that if Africa can retain a proportion of that spending within the continent through development of infrastructure for local refining and distribution of petroleum and other hydrocarbon end-products, “the economic impact would be transformative.”
“That is why we should support the African Energy Bank (AEB) with its headquarters in Nigeria. If we do not mobilize the appropriate resources to solve our energy problems in Africa, our misery will increase as our population grows. The responsibility is ours and ours alone,” the minister stated.
He noted that Nigeria has fulfilled its obligations as the host nation by completing the construction of the AEB headquarters and meeting other requirements that precede the formal launch and called on other stakeholders promoting the initiative “to set the ball rolling.”
“Ultimately, this shift is not merely about energy self-sufficiency; it is about economic sovereignty, industrialization, and inclusive growth.
“Retaining hydrocarbon value in Africa means creating the fiscal space and investment capacity needed to power critical sectors such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, security and technology.”
Commenting on the global energy transition agenda, Lokpobiri said no country in the world is abandoning oil and gas yet and Nigeria will not do so either.
He cited reports of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2025, and OPEC World Outlook 2025, among others, which posit that, in the foreseeable future, fossil fuels will continue to be the dominant energy source globally and that the world is moving from conversations around energy transition to energy mix or energy convergence.
He highlighted efforts by the President Bola Tinubu administration to accelerate activities in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and attract more investments to deepen energy security and further boost contributions of the sector to the economy.
This is through policies and implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act, enhancing regulatory clarity, reducing the cost of upstream operations and boosting the confidence of investors. Some of the results, according to him, include the return of confidence of international investors, an increase in crude oil production and rig counts in the last two years, and strengthening refining and downstream capacity.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist, scholar and analyst of socioeconomic issues in Nigeria and Africa. He is skilled in energy reporting, business and economy, and holds a master's degree in mass communication.
