The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri has reiterated Nigeria’s readiness to meet the September 2024 deadline for the commencement of the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) to be established in the country.
The minister gave the assurance when he received the Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), Dr Omar Ibrahim on Wednesday in his office in Abuja.
Nigeria, had, in July, emerged the host for the bank which is aimed to facilitate access to funding for energy projects in the continent, thereby catalysing economic growth and enhancing energy security. Nigeria was granted the hosting right for the Africa Energy Bank after beating Ghana, Benin Republic, Algeria, South Africa and Cote D’Ivoire in a keenly contested bidding.
Lokpobiri said Nigeria is leaving no stone unturned to fulfill all the necessary requirements before the end of September saying Nigeria will meet her obligations as host country.
“We are working very seriously to fulfill all the things we have signed up to do before the end of September, so that the bank can actually start off. We want to emphatically state that Nigeria is committed to meeting her obligations as a host country. We are working day and night to ensure that we meet the September deadline,” Lokpobiri said.
He commended the APPO scribe for his contribution to the organisation while adding that his emergence has seen Organisation rebranded and grown exponentially to its current level. The minister however called on Dr Ibrahim to join in building the bank to a strong level that everyone will be proud of.
“And we as Nigerians are very proud of you, not just as our ambassador, but as an ambassador of Africa. Anytime you speak, the rest of the world listens because of your depth of knowledge and the way you have been rated globally as far as the energy community is concerned,” the minister added.
APPO Secretary-General, Dr. Farouk Ibrahim, in his remarks, congratulated the country, especially the Ministry for winning the AEB hosting right and efforts being made towards the establishment of the bank.
“There are issues. One is the host country agreement, second is the headquarters preparing it and the third is to make up the difference between what Nigeria pledged and what Nigeria has paid so far. Everybody is looking up to Nigeria. Ministers of other countries are asking me, when are you moving? When are we starting,” he said.
He called on the Federal Government to fulfill the promise made to APPO which informed the decision to give Nigeria the hosting right.
The $5 billion AEB which aims to address the funding challenges faced by Africa’s oil and gas industry amid the global energy transition was jointly established by APPO and multilateral development finance institution, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
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