$200bn Needed to Develop Nigeria’s Gas Infrastructure – NEITI

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has stated that $200 billion is needed to develop Nigeria’s gas infrastructure. This is in recognition of the country’s position as the ninth-largest gas producer globally and the top producer in Africa.

Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, highlighted this need during a presentation to the Public Accounts Committee led by Senator Aliyu Wadada Ahmed, where he also referred to the 2021-2023 reports on Oil, Gas, and Solid Minerals.

Orji emphasized the absence of the required infrastructure to fully maximize the country’s gas resources. He pointed out that there is a need for an annual investment of $20 billion over a decade to build gas pipelines, both within Nigeria and extending across the West African region and beyond.

Orji said: “In Nigeria, what we need is to invest in gas infrastructure; our study shows that we need an initial investment of $20 billion annually for 10 years to be able to generate the kind of gas infrastructure required to provide gas for the whole of Africa and beyond.”

The Senate panel expressed frustration over the NEITI report, particularly concerning the finding that less than 1% of solid minerals revenues are remitted into the Federal Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund account.

Senator Wadada, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, criticized the minimal contribution from the solid minerals sector, describing it as “ridiculous and unacceptable.”

Other members of the committee echoed this sentiment, questioning why NEITI’s report only included states like Ogun, Osun, Kogi, Edo, Ebonyi, Rivers, Cross Rivers, and the Federal Capital Territory, while excluding key states such as Nasarawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Plateau, and Bauchi.

The committee members were also unanimous in their view that NEITI’s report did not accurately reflect the situation in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, and they expressed concerns about the low contribution of the sector to the country’s GDP.

“This definitely must not continue, there must be complete overhaul of the sector,” he said.