Vice President Kashim Shettima has described Nigeria’s admission as an Association Country of the International Energy Agency (IEA) as a validation of the policy choices and economic reforms of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
Shettima said the development also reflected growing international confidence in Nigeria’s commitment to energy sector reforms and constructive cooperation in the global energy space.
The Vice President spoke on Thursday at the signing of a Joint Work Programme between Nigeria and the Paris-based IEA, formally commencing a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening energy policy, investment and security.
Under the agreement, Nigeria and the IEA will collaborate to develop data for energy policy and investment across the value chain, with particular emphasis on economic growth and energy security.
Speaking on behalf of President Tinubu, Shettima said Nigeria’s formal entry into the IEA fold justified the administration’s policy choices and its drive to harness the country’s abundant energy resources for economic development.
‘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,’ he said.
Shettima commended the IEA for its role in shaping the global energy landscape and helping countries navigate the challenges of energy security, affordability, sustainability and economic development.
According to a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima said Nigeria stands to benefit substantially from the agency’s expertise and institutional resources as the Tinubu administration seeks to reposition the economy by leveraging the country’s conventional and renewable energy resources.
The Vice President said given Nigeria’s enormous 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 noted that Nigeria was endowed with abundant renewable energy resources, adding that the administration’s efforts to harness available resources and reposition the economy were already producing results across different sectors.
Shettima assured the IEA delegation of the Federal Government’s commitment to working with the agency and other stakeholders to contribute meaningfully to the global energy debate, particularly efforts towards achieving a fair and just energy transition.
Earlier, IEA delegation leader Dr Fatih Birol said Nigeria’s admission followed rigorous assessments and consideration by the agency’s governing countries.
Birol explained that the IEA works across the entire energy spectrum, including oil, gas, solar and nuclear power, as well as emerging areas such as artificial intelligence and electric vehicles.
He said the organisation works with about 500 leading energy experts to provide policy advice, data and technical expertise, stressing that admission into the IEA family was subject to stringent requirements.
According to him, following extensive discussions with Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, the IEA board, comprising governments including the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, unanimously approved Nigeria’s admission.
‘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,’ Birol said.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekpo, also attributed Nigeria’s admission to the international recognition of the performance of the Tinubu administration and reforms undertaken since it came into office.
He said the Joint Work Programme would enable the IEA’s technical team to work directly with Nigeria in developing reliable data to guide energy policy and investment decisions across the value chain.
According to the minister, the collaboration is ultimately targeted at stimulating economic growth and strengthening the country’s energy security.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, described the partnership as strategically important to Nigeria, noting that the Nigerian Mission in Paris played a critical role in bringing the process to fruition.
He pledged the commitment of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and the ministry to ensuring that Nigeria derives maximum benefits from the partnership.
‘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,’ Enikanolaiye said.
Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, said the commission had maintained a relationship with the IEA before Nigeria’s formal admission, including the joint sponsorship of the country’s last National Energy Master Plan.
Abdullahi, however, noted that the previous engagement lacked a formal structure and expressed optimism that Nigeria’s new status and the Joint Work Programme would deepen cooperation between the commission and the global energy agency.