Stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry have renewed calls for bold financing reforms and long-term energy planning as they gathered in Lagos to honour the legacy of Aret Adams, the first Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, at the 23rd annual memorial lecture.
Delivering the keynote address, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, described the Africa Energy Bank as a “tectonic shift” capable of closing the continent’s long-standing energy financing gap.
Rewane argued that Africa must increasingly rely on its own financial capacity to power its energy transition and industrial growth, noting that nearly $4 trillion in domestic capital exists across the continent but remains largely underutilised.
“Africa must finance its energy ambitions using domestic resources while aligning policies to support investment,” he said. “The Africa Energy Bank is a critical step toward unlocking investment and accelerating energy development across the continent.”
He echoed the position of Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, who has consistently championed the bank as a strategic solution to Africa’s persistent energy financing constraints. According to Rewane, retaining greater value from Africa’s hydrocarbon resources—while leveraging natural gas as a transition fuel—could significantly reduce energy poverty and expand indigenous participation in the energy sector.
Despite Africa’s vast resources, Rewane warned that the global energy landscape is undergoing a profound transformation driven by rising demand and technological change. He noted that every major industrial revolution—from the internal combustion era to the digital and information age—has dramatically expanded global economic output and energy demand.
“Every economic revolution increases productivity and intensifies the demand for power,” he said. “This trajectory will continue, and countries must secure the energy resources required to sustain growth.”
He cautioned that widening inequality in energy access could deepen economic and social instability, warning that energy deficits often translate into higher risks of insecurity, violence and crime.
Although Africa ranks among the world’s most resource-rich regions—holding significant crude oil reserves and vast potential in coal, wind, solar and hydro resources—Rewane said the continent has yet to effectively optimise its energy mix.
Referencing global financing trends, he noted that the World Bank Group committed about $100 billion to energy projects over the past decade, with the goal of expanding electricity access to 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. Yet Nigeria, he observed, still ranks among the countries with the lowest levels of per-capita energy consumption globally.
Rewane questioned Nigeria’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy while struggling with chronic electricity shortages, arguing that the country’s persistent energy deficit remains a fundamental barrier to economic expansion.
“Producing energy is one thing, but deploying it efficiently to transform economic outcomes is another,” he said.
He also warned that the proposed Africa Energy Bank would only succeed if governance structures are strong and resource management is transparent. Drawing comparisons with other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, he noted that several oil-producing nations have strategically used their energy revenues to build sovereign wealth funds and long-term economic buffers.
Nigeria’s oil output, he added, has declined significantly from the era of Aret Adams—when production ranged between 2.3 million and 4 million barrels per day—to about 1.41 million barrels per day today, highlighting structural underperformance in the sector.
On the global energy mix, Rewane explained that oil accounts for roughly 30 percent of supply, coal 26 percent, and natural gas about 24 percent, while renewable energy sources continue to expand rapidly due to declining costs and technological advancements.
He urged Nigeria to adopt a balanced energy strategy that combines solar, wind, hydro and natural gas to strengthen energy security and support industrial growth.
Rewane also criticised decades of heavy spending on Nigeria’s electricity sector with limited impact, warning that establishing an energy bank alone would not address structural inefficiencies if governance and management challenges persist.
Comparing Nigeria’s financial buffers with global peers, he noted that companies such as Saudi Aramco command valuations approaching $2 trillion, far exceeding Nigeria’s current reserves and highlighting the country’s lag in resource management and sovereign wealth accumulation.
He further questioned what the national oil company had achieved over its more than four decades of existence, suggesting that missed policy opportunities—including decisions during the administration of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua—had cost Nigeria significant economic gains.
Looking ahead, Rewane emphasised that solving Nigeria’s electricity crisis could unlock substantial economic growth. He advocated stronger regional power interconnections, expanded transmission infrastructure and wider deployment of solar energy systems in public institutions.
“Improving connectivity and transmission will resolve many of our power challenges,” he said, noting that solar installations are already demonstrating success in several public facilities.
He concluded that with disciplined governance, strategic planning and sustained investment, Nigeria could significantly transform its energy landscape within the next five years and lay the foundation for sustainable economic growth.
The memorial lecture brought together industry leaders, policymakers and associates of Aret Adams, whose pioneering contributions were widely credited with laying the institutional foundations of Nigeria’s modern petroleum industry. Participants described his legacy as a reminder that visionary leadership and prudent resource management remain critical to the future of Africa’s energy sector.
