The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has called on stakeholders across the gas, power and financial sectors to stop operating in silos and embrace coordinated solutions to address Nigeria’s long-standing power and gas challenges.
Eniola Akinkuotu, the regulator’s head of media and strategic communications, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
Mr Akinkuotu said the NUPRC Chief Executive, Oritsemeyewa Eyesan, made the call during her goodwill message at the 2026 Gas-to-Power Sector Stakeholders’ Engagement held at the Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre (AATC) in Abuja, on Thursday.
Reflecting on decades of policy conversations and interventions, according to the statement, Ms Eyesan lamented that despite Nigeria’s enormous gas reserves and multiple government-backed initiatives, the country has made limited progress due to fragmented implementation and weak alignment among critical stakeholders.
She said the Domestic Gas (DomGas) solution began in 2008 and crystallised in 2009 as part of efforts to address persistent gas-to-power supply challenges.
“We segregated part of our budget for domestic gas. And it was mainly focused on power. We segregated for several years. The needle did not move. We’ve been working in silos,” she said.
Speaking further, she said the disconnect between upstream producers, infrastructure developers and electricity distribution companies has undermined progress for decades.
“The upstream is working. Infrastructure not moving along with the upstream supply. And you have the power distribution companies, not even moving at all with anybody,” she said.
Ms Eyesan noted that Nigeria’s current gas reserves of 215 trillion cubic feet (TCF) should have positioned the country as a major regional energy supplier rather than struggling to satisfy domestic demand.
“Today, we shouldn’t be talking about meeting domestic needs. Today, what we should have been really describing is how to meet regional needs,” she added.
She further criticised institutional rigidity and policy “grandstanding,” warning that excessive bureaucracy and narrow interpretations of government directives continue to stall practical solutions.
“If we continue to grandstand, we won’t make progress. The country will suffer, the continent will suffer.”
Ms Eyesan said Africa initially suffered declining oil and gas investments until gas was recognised as a transition fuel.
The NUPRC called for collaboration and innovation that will unlock power sector potentials for the benefit of Nigeria and the continent.
“If we don’t break those barriers and come up with creative solutions, we will not make progress. Ten years from now, we will still be saying the same things, and it will be a big shame.
“My plea is that we break the silos, we break the barriers, and we come up with creative hands to provide lasting solutions to these critical problems that we must solve for Nigeria and Africa to make progress,” Ms Eyesan said.
