By The daily torch media
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has said Africa is central to the future of global energy security, urging international investors and policymakers to move beyond resource extraction and support infrastructure, manufacturing and skills development across the continent.
Tegbe made the call on Tuesday in a keynote address at the opening plenary of the Middle East Energy 2026 Leadership Summit in Dubai, where he spoke on the theme, “Energy Security and the Effect of Geopolitics.”
The summit, marking its 50th edition, brought together ministers, industry leaders and international dignitaries to examine the impact of geopolitical developments on the global energy sector.
Tegbe said energy security in 2026 could no longer be defined solely by a country’s hydrocarbon reserves, but by the resilience of the entire energy system.
According to him, such resilience encompasses critical mineral supply chains, electricity grids, investment capital and institutions capable of ensuring the continuous supply of energy to homes, hospitals and industries during periods of geopolitical and economic stress.
The minister positioned Nigeria as an important player in the global energy security conversation, citing the country’s more than 200 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves and its decades-long record of supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to markets in Europe and Asia.
He also highlighted the Electricity Act 2023 as one of the most significant reforms in Nigeria’s power sector in a generation.
Tegbe noted that the legislation ended the long-standing federal monopoly over electricity generation and distribution and opened the way for the emergence of multiple electricity markets across the federation.
He said the reform agenda under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was aimed at creating a more credible and predictable investment environment for the power sector.
“Capital does not flee risk; it flees uncertainty. Investors will price risk all day long; what they cannot price is a rule that changes after the contract is signed,” Tegbe said.
He added that Nigeria’s reform agenda was fundamentally about building credibility through regulatory certainty, respect for contracts and bankable power offtake arrangements.
The minister presented four key propositions to delegates at the summit.
He argued that diversification, rather than diplomatic disengagement, remains the strongest form of strategic insurance, while electricity grids should receive the same strategic attention historically given to fuel supplies.
He also identified affordability as a security issue and called for a global energy transition that is orderly, just and responsive to the circumstances of individual countries.
Tegbe said Africa, where about 600 million people still lack access to electricity, should no longer be treated as being on the margins of global energy geopolitics.
He pointed to Africa’s vast mineral resources, abundant solar potential, youthful population and rapidly growing energy demand as factors that would increasingly influence energy security and investment decisions in major global centres.
The minister called for stronger partnerships between African countries and international investors, stressing that such cooperation must go beyond the extraction and export of raw resources.
According to him, Africa needs partnerships that support local processing, manufacturing, skills transfer and patient capital to build sustainable energy systems and stronger economies.
“Nigeria has chosen to build. Africa has chosen to build. And we invite you, in the spirit of this remarkable city and this landmark fiftieth summit, to build with us,” Tegbe told delegates in his closing remarks.
The minister’s engagements in Dubai will continue throughout the week, including a ministerial fireside discussion on financing Africa’s power future under the summit’s Africa Spotlight programme.
