Nigeria has signed a Joint Work Programme agreement with the International Energy Agency (IEA), deepening a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening energy policy data, driving investment and boosting energy security across the country’s value chain.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, speaking on behalf of President Bola Tinubu at Thursday’s signing ceremony, described Nigeria’s recent admission into the IEA as a major milestone that reflects the achievements of the administration’s economic reforms.
The VP, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, said the move affirms government efforts to harness the country’s vast energy resources and praised the IEA’s role in shaping global energy policy and supporting nations on issues of security, affordability and sustainability.
“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,” Shettima said, adding that Nigeria stands to gain from the agency’s institutional knowledge and technical expertise.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, who led his organisation’s delegation, explained that the Paris-based body works across oil, gas, solar, nuclear power, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles, drawing on roughly 500 energy experts worldwide.
He said Nigeria’s membership was approved unanimously by the IEA board, which includes the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, following discussions with Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum and Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo. Birol pledged continued support for Nigeria’s energy sector, from clean cooking initiatives to gas market development and expert training.
Ekpo said Nigeria’s admission into the IEA was a direct reflection of the Tinubu administration’s economic reform performance, while Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sola Enikanoaiye called the partnership strategically important and credited Nigeria’s mission in Paris for helping secure it. Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu pledged her ministry’s continued support in ensuring the agreement delivers maximum benefit for Nigerians.
Also present, Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Mustapha Abdullahi, said the Commission’s existing relationship with the IEA had already produced joint sponsorship of Nigeria’s last National Energy Master Plan, and expressed hope that the new formal partnership would strengthen that relationship further.
