Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has held a regional workshop in Lagos to review and validate the Host Government Agreement (HGA) concerning the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline Project (AAGP).
  
The Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) governing the relationship between the state parties was validated during a similar workshop in August this year in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
  
According to the Host Government Agreement (HGA), which will be annexed to the IGA, it will govern the relationship between a host state and the project company.
  
The initiative is part of the bloc’s efforts to advance regional energy security through regional infrastructure, such as the AAGP, a significant project connecting Nigeria to Morocco, supplying all ECOWAS member-states and Mauritania, with eventual extension to Europe.
  
AAGP, a name resulting from the merging of the West African Gas Pipeline Extension Project (WAGPEP) and the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project (NMGP) into a single gas pipeline project, aims to establish a 7,000-kilometre gas pipeline that will traverse 13 coastal countries, with spur lines connecting the three ECOWAS landlocked countries and offering a sustainable and secure energy source for the region and beyond.

The NMGP was launched in 2016 by former President, Muhammadu Buhari, and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI. In his opening address, the Director of Energy and Mines at the ECOWAS Commission, Dabire Bayaornibè, praised the collaborative efforts of Nigeria and Morocco, highlighting their role in driving the project forward through their respective national oil companies.
  
“Our region faces growing energy challenges, and the AAGP is a critical project to address these issues. Natural gas is a promising transitional energy source for the region,” he said, noting that the AAGP aligns with ECOWAS’ strategic integration.
 
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, emphasised the project’s significance in harnessing West Africa’s natural gas resources, highlighting the project’s potential to drive regional industrialisation, create job opportunities, and promote economic growth.
  
The minister stressed the importance of partnerships among governments, international institutions, and the private sector, adding that the HGA would provide the foundation for the collaborations.
 
 He further noted that the AAGP aligns with Nigeria’s natural gas expansion and industrialisation goals, offering a cleaner and more affordable energy source.
  
The workshop featured presentations from the ECOWAS Directorate of Energy and Mines and the Moroccan delegation, followed by discussions on the HGA and related project modalities.