Nigeria’s Energy Turnaround is Underway, By Olu Verheijen

Nigeria’s energy sector sits at the centre of our nation’s economic future. It shapes growth, underpins fiscal stability, and directly affects the daily lives of millions of Nigerians. For many years, however, this potential was constrained by underinvestment, policy uncertainty, financial pressures, and infrastructure gaps that limited the sector’s ability to serve as a true engine of development. 

Over the past three years, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, Nigeria has taken deliberate and coordinated steps to reset this trajectory. From the outset, the President established a clear direction: to restore credibility, unlock investment, and reposition energy as a driver of growth, jobs, and prosperity.

The reforms reflect that governing philosophy: market-oriented, fiscally responsible, and anchored in disciplined execution. In oil and gas, the priority was to restore competitiveness and attract capital at scale.

Through targeted presidential directives and sustained implementation, fiscal terms were recalibrated, regulatory clarity strengthened, and long-standing bottlenecks addressed. Contracting timelines were compressed, cost structures improved, and investor confidence rebuilt.

At a time when global upstream investment was tightening, Nigeria reversed years of decline; emerging once again as a leading destination for energy capital in Africa. The result has been a renewed pipeline of over $10 billion in Final Investment Decisions, particularly in deep offshore and integrated gas, restoring Nigeria’s attractiveness to international oil companies in capital-intensive, long-cycle projects.

At the same time, a deliberate programme of divestments has enabled the transfer of onshore and shallow-water assets to capable indigenous independents—unlocking record growth in onshore production and creating a more balanced, performance-driven asset ownership structure across the sector.

Simultaneously, the administration elevated gas as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s energy and economic strategy. With the right fiscal incentives and regulatory clarity in place, investment has accelerated across non-associated gas, LNG, petrochemicals, and emerging clean energy solutions.

Gas is now firmly positioned—not only as a transition fuel—but as a foundation for industrialisation, export growth, and domestic value creation. In the power sector, the challenge was more fundamental. Years of accumulated obligations and structural constraints had placed significant strain on the electricity market—limiting its ability to attract capital at scale, expand supply, and consistently meet the needs of the economy.

The president therefore moved decisively to reset the sector’s foundations. The Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme—the most comprehensive financial intervention in the sector’s history—was established to restore liquidity, rebuild confidence, and stabilise the value chain.

Through rigorous verification, negotiated settlements, and a credible bond-backed framework, the programme is resolving legacy obligations and re-establishing the financial credibility required for sustained investment. This financial reset has been paired with a focused programme of grid-led market redesign to improve performance and unlock growth.

The acceleration of the Presidential Metering Initiative is closing the metering gap, strengthening collections, and reducing losses. In parallel, measures to unlock least-cost generation and improve dispatch are increasing available supply without significant new capital outlay.

Targeted customer support frameworks are being introduced to protect the most vulnerable while reinforcing payment discipline across the market. Together, these reforms are improving service delivery and restoring the commercial viability of the electricity value chain.

Across oil, gas, power, and clean energy, a consistent thread runs through this period: reform has been treated not as a series of announcements, but as a system. Financial discipline underpins operational reliability. Policy clarity attracts capital. Infrastructure investment enables growth. Coordinated execution across institutions has been central to delivering results.

We have documented that journey at https://energyreforms.ng—the reforms undertaken, the rationale behind them, and the early outcomes achieved; reflecting the work of a committed team across government and the private sector, operating under clear presidential direction to translate policy into measurable progress.

This is not an end point, but a foundation. The task ahead is to consolidate these gains, deepen market discipline, and scale investment. Our objective remains clear: to ensure that Nigeria’s energy sector fully serves its highest purpose—powering economic opportunity, driving industrial growth, and improving the lives of all Nigerians.

Olu Verheijen is the special adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR on energy