Nigeria’s power sector reforms a model for Africa’s energy security — Tegbe

Nigeria has positioned its ongoing electricity sector reforms as a potential model for developing economies seeking to strengthen energy security and attract long-term investment amid growing global geopolitical tensions.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, made the case at the opening plenary of the Middle East Energy 2026 Leadership Summit in Dubai, where he argued that energy security now extends beyond access to oil and gas to include resilient electricity grids, critical mineral supply chains, financing and strong institutions.

Speaking on “Energy Security and the Effect of Geopolitics” at the 50th edition of the summit, Tegbe said Nigeria’s Electricity Act 2023 had fundamentally altered the structure of the country’s power market by ending the longstanding federal monopoly and creating room for state-level electricity markets.

He said the reform, alongside efforts to improve regulatory certainty and investment conditions, was intended to make Nigeria’s electricity sector more attractive to private capital.

“Capital does not flee risk; it flees uncertainty,” Tegbe said, stressing the importance of regulatory certainty, contract sanctity and bankable offtake arrangements in attracting investment into the power sector.

According to him, the global energy landscape is becoming increasingly fragmented, making diversification of energy sources and supply chains a critical component of national security.

He also called for greater strategic attention to electricity grids, arguing that resilient transmission and distribution infrastructure should receive the same level of attention historically given to fuel supplies.

The minister further linked energy security to affordability, saying access to reliable and affordable electricity is itself a security issue because energy costs directly affect households, businesses and industrial competitiveness.

Tegbe said Africa should be treated as a central player in the global energy conversation rather than merely as a supplier of raw resources.

He noted that about 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity, while the continent possesses significant natural gas reserves, critical minerals, solar resources and a youthful workforce that could support a major expansion of energy production and manufacturing.

For Nigeria, he cited more than 200 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves and the country’s long-standing LNG supply to European and Asian markets as evidence of its strategic relevance to global energy security.

He urged international investors and development partners to move beyond resource extraction and support local processing, manufacturing, skills development and long-term financing across African energy markets.

The minister also called for a more orderly and country-sensitive energy transition, arguing that developing economies should be allowed to determine pathways that reflect their individual energy needs and development realities.

“Nigeria has chosen to build. Africa has chosen to build and we invite you to build with us,” Tegbe told delegates.

His participation in the Dubai summit continues with a ministerial fireside discussion on financing Africa’s power future under the summit’s Africa Spotlight programme.