By Fredrick Ameh
Energy icon Dr. Diran Fawibe has called for the urgent establishment of a Nigerian Academy of Energy Economics, an independent body designed to provide the rigorous, non-partisan analysis necessary to stabilize Nigeria’s most critical economic sector.
Speaking on Tuesday after receiving a Distinguished Fellowship Award from the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NAEE), Fawibe argued that while energy accounts for 90% of Nigeria’s foreign earnings, it lacks a peer-recognized institutional framework comparable to the Nigerian Academy of Engineering.
He insisted that massive policy shifts, such as fuel subsidy removal and gas commercialization, require evidence-based scrutiny rather than purely political or corporate direction.
The proposed academy would serve as a high-level advisory hub for the Presidency, the National Assembly, and the Central Bank, ensuring that $50 billion in annual sector investments are guided by objective economic principles.
The proposal for a Nigerian Academy of Energy Economics is a mechanical necessity for Policy De-risking. Currently, Nigeria’s energy decisions often suffer from “Political Volatility,” where long-term investments are disrupted by short-term political cycles.
By institutionalizing a body of energy economists, Fawibe is proposing a “Forecasting Buffer,” a mechanism that can provide rapid, confidential analysis on the economic implications of global oil price fluctuations or local regulatory shifts.
This would bring Nigeria in line with global standards, where independent think tanks validate state energy trajectories before they are fully implemented.
Furthermore, Fawibe’s call for a Non-Partisan Institutional Framework addresses a significant intellectual gap in the “Mid-Stream” of policy making. While International Oil Companies (IOCs) and government agencies have their own internal economists, their analyses are often tied to specific organizational interests.
An independent academy would democratize high-level energy data, publishing annual reports on the state of energy economics to improve Market Transparency.
For the NAEE, implementing this proposal would mean moving beyond a professional association to becoming a “Statutory Guardian” of the nation’s energy-economic future, ensuring that the country’s intellectual capacity is fully leveraged to insulate national planning from external and internal political pressures.