Nigeria Must Seek Strategic Alliances with Global Powers to Attract Capital for Gas Development — Dr. Diran Bello, GGA

Bennett Oghifo

Nigeria must pursue strategic alliances with global superpowers and influential middle powers to attract capital and secure long-term markets for its gas sector, while maintaining strategic autonomy in an increasingly multipolar world, Dr. Diran Bello, Executive Director of Good Governance Africa (GGA), said.
Speaking at Pitching Nigerian Gas to Global Capital: Bankable Approaches to High-Value Gas Projects in Lagos—part of the License to Energy Series—Bello framed Nigeria’s gas ambitions within a rapidly shifting global, macroeconomic and geopolitical context.

He said Nigeria’s recent macroeconomic reforms, particularly in the foreign exchange market, have helped restore predictability for investors, creating a more stable foundation for long-term energy investment.

“Nigeria’s economic outlook is more stable now than it has been in the past decade,” Bello said.
“Recent policy reforms—necessary even if painful—have restored clarity around the forex system. Volatility has given way to predictability. That stability matters deeply for investors.
Bello argued that Nigeria’s gas opportunity should be viewed not merely as a domestic policy issue, but as part of a broader global realignment in energy markets. He said the slowing pace of the global energy transition, combined with geopolitical disruptions to traditional oil and gas supply routes, has created a second strategic window for Nigeria to leverage its gas endowment.According to him, energy, geopolitics and capital are now deeply intertwined, compelling producing countries to position themselves as reliable long-term suppliers. In this context, Bello said Nigeria must actively cultivate strategic economic partnerships with global powers to attract investment and secure export markets, while maintaining strategic autonomy in a fragmented world order.

Capitas Partners, Savannah Capital Launch Accelerator for Indigenous Producers
Against this backdrop, Capitas Partners and London-based Savannah Capital announced the launch of an Accelerator Programme aimed at improving the investment readiness of Nigerian marginal field operators and independent oil and gas producers seeking foreign capital.

Dr. Abimbola Agboluaje, Founder and Managing Partner of Capitas Partners, said the programme is designed to address a persistent constraint facing indigenous operators: the difficulty of converting promising assets into bankable investment opportunities.

“Our mission is simple: move more Nigerian companies from licences to actual production,” Agboluaje said.

“If ten companies pitch investors, seven or eight should be getting a ‘yes’—not one or two. We need to close the gap between investor interest and real investment.”

He said the partnership with Savannah Capital is strategic because the firm is led by African investment banking and trade-finance specialists with deep experience in the City of London.
“They understand what global capital is looking for, and because Savannah Capital is African-led, it allows for the frank conversations that are necessary to improve corporate governance and transparency and bring projects to a stage where investors are comfortable funding them,” he added.

NCDMB: Infrastructure and Local Participation Central to Gas Monetisation
From the development and local content perspective, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, Executive Secretary and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), represented by Mr. Ejiro Dortie, General Manager, Commercial Ventures, said the improved regulatory and policy environment is encouraging both Nigerian and international oil companies to invest in gas monetisation.
Dortie highlighted the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) and OB3 pipelines as critical infrastructure projects currently underway, noting that the NCDMB is working to ensure strong Nigerian participation in their delivery.

He also disclosed that the NCDMB, through the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF)—administered by the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM)—provides single-digit, long-tenor financing of up to $10 million per borrower to support domestic gas utilisation.
According to him, the fund has supported gas cylinder manufacturing, gas storage and distribution infrastructure, in line with the Federal Government’s drive to expand mass domestic adoption of gas for cooking and household energy.

NUPRC: Regulatory Framework Built to Unlock Gas for Industry and Exports
Also speaking at the conference,Engr. Jennis Anyanwu, Deputy Director, Gas Production and Utilisation at the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), said Nigeria has over 50 trillion cubic feet of gas available for monetisation, positioning the country strongly to attract global investment.
He said the Commission is building a regulatory system aligned with the Tinubu administration’s ambition to use gas as a vehicle for industrialisation and export growth, adding that the NUPRC has issued 19 primary gas-related regulations to reduce barriers to production and provide clarity for investors.

“Some of these regulations are designed to balance gas exports with domestic gas delivery, in line with the objective of catalysing industrialisation through gas,” Anyanwu said.

He added that the Commission has organised industry engagements and investment roadshows bringing asset owners together with investors, equipment manufacturers and financiers. According to him, the NUPRC has also held dedicated sessions with gas producers under the Decade of Gas initiative to identify impediments to gas development across regulatory, fiscal, commercial and infrastructure dimensions.
These engagements, he said, informed the framing of recent Presidential Executive Orders, widely seen as having stimulated new investment in the sector.