The President of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) and Regional Coordinator for Africa of the International Gas Union (IGU), Akachukwu Nwokedi, has called for coordinated policy, shared infrastructure, and collective diplomacy as essential tools to secure Africa’s energy future.
 
He warned that Africa faces the risk of remaining resource-rich but energy-poor unless countries move quickly to coordinate policies, share infrastructure, and pursue collective diplomacy.
 
Fragmentation, he said, threatens to undermine the continent’s ability to attract investment, manage market volatility, and deliver reliable electricity to millions of citizens.
 
Nwokedi warned that Africa must act decisively to turn its vast oil and gas resources into broad-based prosperity.
 
Delivering a goodwill address at the International Energy Summit, Nwokedi declared that regional energy cooperation is no longer optional but a strategic necessity in an increasingly volatile global energy order.
 
“In a world where energy increasingly shapes geopolitics, fragmentation is a liability. Regional alignment gives Africa the scale, resilience, and credibility required to attract capital, manage volatility, and negotiate from a position of strength,” he said.
 
Addressing a high-level audience of government officials, industry executives, investors, and diplomats during the session on “Regional Oil & Gas Cooperation,” Nwokedi warned that without deliberate integration, Africa risks remaining fragmented and marginalised, with millions still lacking reliable and affordable access to power and the economic mobility it enables.
 
He noted that the continent’s abundant oil and gas reserves are gaining geopolitical significance amid supply chain disruptions, shifting alliances, and the weaponisation of energy in global diplomacy.
 
He stressed that no single nation can effectively navigate market volatility, capital constraints, or external pressure in isolation.
 
“Africa’s energy future will not be secured through isolated national strategies. Only through integration, coordinated policy, shared infrastructure, and unified diplomacy can the continent convert resource abundance into economic power and energy access,” Nwokedi said.
 
Among the opportunities he highlighted are harmonised regulatory frameworks to unlock cross-border investments, interconnected infrastructure including pipelines, LNG corridors, processing hubs, and shared trading platforms; stronger regional institutions to de-risk projects and mobilise international capital, and natural gas as a catalyst for industrialisation, universal electricity access, and job creation.

Pointing to early progress, Nwokedi commended transnational initiatives such as the West African Gas Pipeline and Nigeria’s recently launched NNPC Gas Master Plan, describing them as evidence of a shift toward value expansion and market-driven development.