According to him, the cost is not merely financial but structural, reflecting missed opportunities for value creation, job generation, and economic transformation across the continent.
“The core idea is this: if Africa can retain a proportion of that spending within the continent through localised value addition, infrastructure development, and industrial participation, the economic impact would be transformative,” Lokpobiri said.
Retaining hydrocarbon value within Africa, he said, would unlock fiscal space to invest in sectors such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, security, and technology.
Lokpobiri also used the platform to renew calls for support for the proposed African Energy Bank, which is expected to be headquartered in Nigeria. He warned that failure to mobilise sufficient financing for Africa’s energy needs would worsen poverty levels as the continent’s population continues to grow.
“If we do not mobilise the appropriate resources to solve the energy problems in Africa, the misery will increase as population grows,” he said, adding that Nigeria, as host country, had fulfilled its obligations toward establishing the bank.
Addressing the global energy debate, Lokpobiri pushed back against narratives suggesting that oil and gas are being phased out. He cited recent outlooks by the International Energy Agency and OPEC, both of which indicate that fossil fuels will remain dominant in the global energy mix for the foreseeable future.
“No country in the world is abandoning oil and gas, and Nigeria will not either,” he said, stressing that Africa’s priority should be balancing energy availability, accessibility, and affordability.
He described the summit as a call to action, urging African governments and investors to move beyond dialogue and confront energy poverty head-on, while positioning the continent as a competitive destination for energy investment.
