Dike Onwuamaeze
The federal government has declared that reforms initiated by President Bola Tinubu’s administration in the oil and gas sector have positioned gas as the foundation for Nigeria’s industrialisation, restored investors’ confidence, increased the adoption of cost- reflective electricity tariffs to 45 per cent, and raised the national metering rate to about 57 per cent.
This declaration was made this week in Lagos by the Special Adviser to the Nigerian President on Energy, Mrs. Olubukola Arowolo Verheijen, at the Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) “Energy Day” with the theme “Energy in Nigeria: From Potential to Reality.”
Verheijen said that “for Nigeria, gas is not merely a transitional fuel; it is our development fuel. It is central to power, to fertiliser, to petrochemicals, to clean cooking, CNG transport, our exports, and manufacturing.”
She said Nigeria’s proven gas reserves exceeded 215 trillion cubic feet, adding that the country’s gross production had risen.
“But the goal is not to produce more gas; it is to ensure that gas becomes the power for Nigerian products, Nigerian jobs, and Nigerian exports,” she said.
She clarified that the bond instruments the government issued to address debts in the power sector were not a bailout but a strategic reset “that clears only verified arrears and restores liquidity and investor confidence.”
“Additional reforms match that reset. The national metering rate has risen to about 57 per cent with hundreds of thousands of new meters deployed each year.
“Tariff reforms are also being implemented pragmatically. About 45 per cent of the market is now cost reflective, and tariffs are linked to service quality.”
Verheijen also said that the reform has restored investors’ confidence and brought back capital to the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
According to her, Nigeria’s share of African upstream final investment decisions (FIDs) rose from about 4.0 per cent in 2023 to roughly 40 per cent in 2025.
Speaking at the Energy Day, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited (RAECL), Mr. Tony Attah, who was represented by Vice President, Accounting, Reporting and Control, RAECL, Mr. Emeka Morah, said that Nigeria needed its domestic gas to fuel the industrialisation of the country’s economy.
“The vision of Renaissance is built on being the African leading energy company and at the same time fuelling industrialisation, sustainably enabling energy security,” Morah said.
In his welcome address, the President of NBCC, Mr. Abimbola Olashore, said that the theme, “Energy in Nigeria: From Potential to Reality,” spoke directly to “one of the most important imperatives of our time: transforming Nigeria’s abundant energy resources into sustainable economic growth, industrial development, and shared prosperity.”
Olashore said that recent reforms within the sector have signaled renewed momentum in increased investment commitments, the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act, ongoing efforts to improve the power sector, growing interest in gas development and renewable energy projects, and are creating new growth opportunities.
“These developments reaffirm Nigeria’s position as a strategic energy destination and underscore the importance of sustained collaboration between government, industry, investors, and development partners.
In his goodwill message, the Managing Director/CEO, Aradel Holdings, Mr. Adegbite Falade, said that Nigeria “must produce more energy, make it cleaner, deliver it more reliably, and ensure it becomes the foundation for broad-based economic growth.”
Falade, who is also the chairman of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group, said that the group understood that energy development must go beyond extraction and must translate into domestic value creation, industrialisation, power availability, technology transfer, skills development, and national prosperity.