Nigeria and the International Energy Agency have signed an agreement for a Joint Work Programme to strengthen strategic cooperation in energy policy, investment, economic growth and energy security.
The agreement was signed on Thursday, with Vice President Kashim Shettima describing Nigeria’s formal admission into the IEA as an Association Country as a significant milestone and a testament to the gains of President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms.
Speaking through a statement issued on Thursday, Shettima said Nigeria’s entry into the Paris-based organisation justified the administration’s policy choices and efforts to leverage the country’s abundant energy resources.
“Nigeria’s admission as an association country with the IEA is a significant milestone for our country, and it reflects Nigeria’s strategic importance in the global energy landscape and the confidence that the IEA has placed in our commitment to constructive international energy cooperation”, the VP said,
Shettima added that given Nigeria’s potential, “the country will benefit from IEA’s institutional knowledge, the intellectual resources, the reach and expertise to support our nation’s ambitions in this sector.”
He also acknowledged Nigeria’s abundant renewable energy resources, saying the administration remained committed to repositioning the economy by leveraging the country’s available resources.
The VP assured the IEA team of the administration’s commitment to continued collaboration with stakeholders and contributing to the global energy debate on a fair and just energy transition.
Earlier, the leader of the IEA delegation, Dr Fatih Birol, explained that the organisation was an organisation of governments covering all technological fields, including oil, gas, solar, nuclear power, artificial intelligence and electric cars.
Birol said the agency worked with the top 500 energy experts in the world in providing policy advice, sharing data and expertise. He noted that becoming a member of the IEA family was not an easy task, as it required extensive considerations and tests.
According to Birol, following detailed discussions with the Minister of State for Petroleum and Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo, the board comprising the governments of the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom voted and accepted Nigeria unanimously as a member.
He said, “The IEA will accompany the Nigerian energy sector for the next few years to come for a much better energy future. We will provide policy advice from clean cooking to gas markets, from gas markets to training Nigerian experts at the IEA on our own.”
Earlier, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said Nigeria’s admission into the IEA was based on the performance of the Tinubu administration, reflected in the reforms undertaken in the economy.
He said the signing of the Joint Work Programme would involve the IEA’s technical team working with Nigeria to develop data for energy policy and investment across the value chain, with a focus on economic growth and energy security.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanoaiye, described the IEA partnership with Nigeria as strategically important, noting that the Nigerian Mission in Paris played a critical role in ensuring its success.
Pledging the commitment of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, to the process, he said, “Our role is to ensure that whatever government does at home is projected effectively in advancing and promoting the interest of Nigeria. We take this as a critical component of our national interest, and we will not fail in ensuring that we assist, as facilitators and coordinators, in ensuring that the maximum benefit of this endeavour is derived for the benefit of the Nigerian people.”
The Director General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Mustapha Abdullahi, said the commission’s relationship with the IEA had led to the joint sponsorship of Nigeria’s last National Energy Master Plan, despite the absence of a formal structure for the relationship.
He expressed optimism that Nigeria’s formal joining of the IEA and the new agreement would strengthen the commission’s relationship with the organisation.