THE Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Tegbe, says Africa is central to global energy geopolitics amid increasing geopolitical fragmentation.
Tegbe stated this in a keynote address at the opening plenary of the Middle East Energy 2026 Leadership Summit in Dubai.
He spoke on the theme, “Energy Security and the Effect of Geopolitics,” at the 50th edition of the summit.
Tegbe said energy security in 2026 could no longer be defined by hydrocarbon reserves alone.
He described it as the resilience of the entire energy system, covering critical mineral supply chains, grid infrastructure, capital and institutions.
According to him, these systems must keep energy flowing to homes, hospitals and industries even under stress.
Tegbe said Nigeria was central to the global energy security conversation, citing its more than 200 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves.
He also noted Nigeria’s two-decade record of reliable liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply to Europe and Asia.
The minister described the Electricity Act 2023 as the most far-reaching reform of Nigeria’s power sector in a generation.
He said the Act ended the long-standing federal monopoly and created 37 emerging electricity markets across the country.
Tegbe said the reform was being implemented under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said Nigeria’s reform agenda was fundamentally a credibility agenda built around regulatory certainty, contract sanctity and bankable offtake.
“Capital does not flee risk; it flees uncertainty.
“Investors will price risk all day long; what they cannot price is a rule that changes after the contract is signed,” he said.
Tegbe outlined four propositions for delegates at the summit.
He said diversification, rather than diplomatic disengagement, was the surest form of strategic insurance.
Tegbe also said electricity grids deserved the same strategic attention historically given to fuel supplies.
He identified affordability as a security issue and called for an orderly and just global energy transition.
According to him, the transition must also respond to the circumstances of individual nations.
Tegbe said Africa, with about 600 million people without access to electricity, was not at the periphery of global energy geopolitics.
He said the continent’s mineral wealth, solar resources, youthful workforce and rapidly growing energy demand would shape global energy security.
“Africa is not at the margins of energy geopolitics; it is the fulcrum,” he said.
He called for partnerships that would go beyond raw resource extraction to include local processing, manufacturing, skills transfer and patient capital.
“Nigeria has chosen to build. Africa has chosen to build.
“And we invite you, in the spirit of this remarkable city and this landmark fiftieth summit, to build with us,” he said.
The minister’s engagements in Dubai continue through the week, including a ministerial fireside on financing Africa’s power future under the summit’s Africa Spotlight programme.
The statement was issued by Adeola Labzy, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Minister.
M.P
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