Nigeria and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have signed an agreement for a Joint Work Programme to strengthen cooperation on energy policy, data development and investment across the energy value chain.
The partnership is expected to support Nigeria’s efforts to drive economic growth, improve energy security and attract investment into the energy sector.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the signing ceremony on Thursday, described Nigeria’s formal admission into the IEA as an Association Country as a significant milestone and another testament to the gains of the administration’s economic reforms.
Shettima said the development justified the policy choices of the Tinubu administration, particularly its efforts to leverage the country’s abundant energy resources to reposition the economy.
“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,” he said.
He added: “Given Nigeria’s potential, 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.”
The Vice President commended the IEA for its role in shaping the global energy landscape and supporting countries to navigate challenges relating to energy security, affordability, sustainability and economic development.
He also highlighted Nigeria’s abundant renewable energy resources, assuring the agency of the administration’s commitment to working with stakeholders to contribute to the global energy debate on a fair and just energy transition.
Earlier, IEA Executive Director, Dr Fatih Birol, said the organisation covers a wide range of energy technologies, including oil, gas, solar, nuclear power, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles.
Birol said Nigeria’s admission followed detailed discussions and considerations, noting that the IEA Board, comprising governments including the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, unanimously accepted Nigeria as an Association Country.
He said: “To be a member of the IEA family is not an easy task. It requires a lot of considerations and tests.”
Birol assured Nigeria of the agency’s long-term support, saying, “The IEA will accompany the Nigerian energy sector for the next few years to come for a much better energy future.”
He added: “We will provide policy advice from clean cooking to gas markets, from gas markets to training Nigerian experts at the IEA on our own.”
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said Nigeria’s admission into the IEA reflected the performance of the Tinubu administration and the reforms undertaken in the economy.
According to him, “Nigeria’s admittance into the IEA was based on the performance of the Tinubu administration reflected in the reforms undertaken in the economy.”
Ekpo said the Joint Work Programme would strengthen technical cooperation between Nigeria and the IEA, particularly in developing data to guide energy policy and investment across the value chain.
He said the programme was targeted at promoting “economic growth and energy security.”
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, described the partnership as strategically important to Nigeria, noting that the Nigerian Mission in Paris played a critical role in facilitating the process.
He pledged the commitment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensuring that the country derives maximum benefit from the partnership.
“Our role is to ensure that whatever government does at home is projected effectively in advancing and promoting the interest of Nigeria,” Enikanolaiye said.
“We take this as a critical component of our national interest and we will not fail in ensuring that we assist, as facilitators and coordinators, in ensuring that the maximum benefit of this endeavour is derived for the benefit of the Nigerian people,” he added.
The Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, said the Commission had maintained a relationship with the IEA before the formal partnership.
He said the two organisations had jointly sponsored Nigeria’s last National Energy Master Plan, but noted that “there was no structure to our relationship.”
Abdullahi expressed optimism that Nigeria’s formal admission into the IEA and the signing of the Joint Work Programme would strengthen the relationship and provide a more structured framework for technical cooperation.
The agreement marks a new phase in Nigeria’s engagement with the IEA, with both sides expected to deepen cooperation on energy policy, data, investment, technical expertise and the country’s broader energy transition agenda.