By Obiabin Onukwugha
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, has asserted that natural gas remains central to Nigeria’s economic diversification plans, and its broader energy transition agenda.
Ekpo made the assertion while speaking at the opening ceremony of the ongoing 9th Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES 2026) themed: “Energy for Peace and Prosperity: Securing Our Shared Future”, in Abuja on Monday.
The minister, who spoke at a strategic session titled: “Local Content Beyond Compliance: Building African Industrial Powerhouses,” described the energy sector as Nigeria’s most immediate and scalable pathway to prosperity.
“The gas sector is not only critical to energy security and a pragmatic transition to lower-carbon systems; it is fundamentally the backbone of industrialisation and economic resilience,” he said.
The minister emphasised the importance of gas monetisation, saying that abundant gas reserves alone would not translate into development without deliberate policies to deepen local participation, skills and ownership in Nigeria’s value chain,
The maintained that the time has come to evolve from compliance to performance, where local companies are productive, innovative and globally competitive.
“This session challenges us to move beyond compliance toward performance-driven local content that deliberately builds industrial strength and long-term competitiveness,” Ekpo said.
He posited that building such capacity would require investments in engineering, project execution, gas processing, pipeline construction, fabrication, LNG services, operations and maintenance, as well as downstream gas-based industries such as fertiliser, petrochemicals, methanol and compressed natural gas for transportation.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Patience Oyekunle, urged stakeholders to deliberately shape Africa’s energy future around capability and competitiveness.
She stated that energy must be viewed not merely as a commodity for export earnings, but as a catalyst for stability, inclusive development and national security. “Energy is not merely a commodity; it is a catalyst for stability, industrialisation, and inclusive growth,” she said.
Oyekunle noted that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act of 2010, implemented through the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, has helped reduce import dependence and expand indigenous participation.
“The central question before us today is: How do we evolve from compliance-driven local content to performance-driven local content that builds enduring industrial powerhouses, nationally and continentally,” she said.
The permanent secretary outlined key priorities for achieving this shift, including strengthening human capital, upgrading technical and managerial skills, accelerating technology transfer and expanding domestic manufacturing and service capacity.
Oyekunle said genuine local content should be measured not by percentages on paper but by the depth of local expertise, the strength of supply chains and the quality of sustainable jobs created.
She emphasized the need for structured apprenticeship programmes, competency certification and stronger collaboration between industry, research institutions and training centres to ensure Nigeria develops the workforce required for a modern, technology-driven energy sector.
