By Barbara Nwaiwu
Nigeria and the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday signed a Joint Work Programme to strengthen cooperation on energy data, policy and investment across the country’s energy value chain.
The agreement was signed in Abuja by IEA Executive Director, Fatih Birol, and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, in the presence of Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
The signing marked the formal commencement of a deeper partnership following Nigeria’s admission as an IEA Association country.
Shettima, who represented President Bola Tinubu at the ceremony, described Nigeria’s admission as an Association country as a significant milestone and said it reflected the country’s strategic importance in the global energy landscape and the confidence placed in its commitment to international energy cooperation.
“Nigeria’s admission as an association country with the IEA is a significant milestone for our country, and it reflects Nigeria’s strategic importance in the global energy landscape and the confidence that IEA has placed in our commitment to constructive international energy cooperation,” Shettima said.
He said Nigeria would benefit from the IEA’s institutional knowledge, intellectual resources, global reach and expertise to advance its energy ambitions.
“The country will benefit from IEA’s institutional knowledge, the intellectual resources, the reach and expertise to support our nation’s ambitions in this sector.”
Shettima also highlighted Nigeria’s renewable energy resources and said the administration remained committed to repositioning the economy by leveraging available resources.
He assured the IEA delegation of Nigeria’s commitment to working with stakeholders to contribute to the global energy debate on a fair and just energy transition.
Birol said Nigeria’s admission followed extensive considerations and assessments before the IEA Governing Board unanimously approved the country’s entry into the IEA Family.
He said the IEA covers major energy technology areas, including oil, gas, solar, nuclear power, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles, while providing policy advice and sharing data and expertise.
“The IEA will accompany the Nigerian energy sector for the next few years to come for a much better energy future. We will provide policy advice from clean cooking to gas markets, from gas markets to training Nigerian experts at the IEA on our own,” Birol said.
He said the agency would provide policy advice in areas including clean cooking and gas markets, as well as training for Nigerian energy experts.
Ekpo said the Joint Work Programme would involve the IEA’s technical team working with Nigeria to develop data for energy policy and investment across the value chain.
He said the initiative was targeted at promoting economic growth and strengthening energy security.
Ekpo also said Nigeria’s admission into the IEA Association was based on the performance of the Tinubu administration and the reforms undertaken to transform the economy and strengthen the energy sector.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye, described the partnership as strategically important to Nigeria’s national interests.
He said the Nigerian Mission in Paris played a critical role in securing the partnership and pledged continued support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that Nigeria derives maximum benefits from the cooperation.
“Our role is to ensure that whatever government does at home is projected effectively in advancing and promoting the interest of Nigeria,” Enikanolaiye said.
Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Mustapha Abdullahi, said the commission’s previous relationship with the IEA had supported the joint sponsorship of Nigeria’s National Energy Master Plan.
Abdullahi said the earlier cooperation lacked a formal structure but expressed optimism that Nigeria’s new status and the Joint Work Programme would strengthen institutional cooperation between the ECN and the IEA.
The agreement builds on more than a decade of cooperation between Nigeria and the IEA, including work on energy data and capacity building.
The Joint Work Programme now provides a framework for deeper cooperation on energy data, policy development and investment, with the broader aim of supporting economic growth and energy security.
