Africa Is Not at the Margins of Energy Geopolitics, It Is the Fulcrum — Tegbe

The Honourable Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has said Africa is central to the future of global energy security, arguing that Nigeria’s ongoing power sector reforms provide a model for how developing economies can strengthen energy resilience amid growing geopolitical fragmentation.

Tegbe made the remarks 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”.

Addressing ministers, industry leaders and international dignitaries at the 50th edition of the summit, the minister said energy security in 2026 could no longer be measured solely by the availability of hydrocarbon reserves.

He described energy security as the resilience of an entire system, encompassing critical mineral supply chains, electricity grids, capital and institutions needed to keep energy flowing to homes, hospitals and industries during periods of stress.

Tegbe positioned Nigeria as a key player in the global energy security debate, citing the country’s more than 200 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves and its two-decade record of reliable liquefied natural gas supply to Europe and Asia.

He also highlighted the Electricity Act of 2023 as the most far-reaching reform of Nigeria’s power sector in a generation, noting that it ended a long-standing federal monopoly and effectively created 37 emerging electricity markets across the federation under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.

“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,” the Minister said.

He described Nigeria’s reform agenda as, at its core, a credibility agenda built on regulatory certainty, contract sanctity and bankable offtake.

Tegbe presented four key propositions to delegates at the summit.

He argued that diversification, rather than diplomatic disengagement, represents the surest form of strategic insurance; that electricity grids now require the same strategic attention historically given to fuel supplies; that affordability is itself a security issue; and that the global energy transition must be orderly, just and responsive to the circumstances of individual nations.

The minister said Africa, where about 600 million people still lack access to electricity, was not on the periphery of global energy geopolitics but at its centre.

He pointed to the continent’s vast mineral resources, abundant solar potential, youthful workforce and rapidly growing energy demand as factors that would increasingly influence energy security in London, Tokyo, Washington and Dubai in the decades ahead.

Tegbe called for a new generation of partnerships that would move beyond raw resource extraction to encompass local processing, manufacturing, skills transfer and patient capital.

“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,” the Minister told delegates in his closing remarks.

The Minister’s engagements in Dubai continue throughout the week, including a ministerial fireside discussion on financing Africa’s power future under the summit’s Africa Spotlight programme.