• Ekpo urges collaboration to unlock Africa’s gas resources
The Federal Government and the National Assembly have been tasked to review old laws on gas flaring to meet international standards and also fast-track environmental remediations.
The call was made at the Peoples’ Environmental Assembly, a conference convened in Port Harcourt at the weekend by “We The People (WTP), aimed at addressing the neglect and environmental challenges faced by the people of the Niger Delta region.
Speaking, the Head of Department (HOD) of Political Science at the Ignatius Ajuru University, Rivers State, Prof. Chris Akani, said countries across the world should take proactive actions in addressing issues of oil spills and environmental devastation. He, however, lamented that Nigeria is focusing more on collecting money from polluters than tackling environmental issues, a situation he described as “disturbing and sad.”
He urged Nigerians and the environmental activists to continue to speak up, demand environmental justice, stating that it was Ken Saro-Wiwa’s courage, integrity and insistence in the fight for environmental justice that gave the Ogoni people visibility.
MINISTER of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Dr Ekperikpe Ekpo, has called on governments, private sector players, financiers, and international partners to collaborate in mobilising resources, deploying technologies, and developing innovative financing models to unlock Africa’s vast gas resources.
He said such efforts would accelerate sustainable development while advancing the continent’s energy transition goals. Ekpo made the call in an address at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) workshop titled “Natural Gas for Africa’s Sustainable Development” on the sidelines of the Africa Energy Week in Cape Town, South Africa.
The minister noted that despite Africa’s wealth of natural resources, including vast natural gas reserves, over 600 million Africans remain without electricity and nearly one billion lack access to clean cooking solutions. This, he said, represents a development emergency that constrains education, healthcare, and industrialisation.
According to him, if Africa is to achieve the aspirations of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it must urgently deploy natural gas as a catalyst for inclusive growth and prosperity.
He highlighted the unique value of natural gas for Africa’s sustainable development, stressing its role in expanding energy access to power homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses; driving industrialisation through fertilizer, petrochemicals, cement, and steel production; enabling clean cooking to reduce reliance on biomass and improve public health outcomes; and supporting the energy transition by complementing renewables, providing baseload stability, and reducing emissions compared to coal and oil.
For Africa, Ekpo maintained that natural gas is not simply a transition fuel but both a bridge and a destination fuel, essential to building resilient economies and societies.
Citing Nigeria as an example, the minister explained that President Bola Tinubu has placed gas at the centre of the economic transformation agenda through the Decade of Gas initiative. The programme, he said, seeks to leverage over 200 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves to deliver prosperity for Nigerians, strengthen regional energy security, and contribute to global stability.
