The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Olu Verheijen, has said Nigeria’s local content policy must prioritise value creation rather than inflate costs, stressing that the country’s oil and gas reforms are aimed at making the sector more competitive and attractive to investors.
Speaking at the 2025 NOG Energy Week in Abuja, Verheijen said local content should drive industrialisation, job creation and economic growth while warning that regulatory delays and policy uncertainty could undermine Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global energy market.
“Local content must create value, not inflation. Regulation must accelerate, not obstruct. Policy must invite capital, not frighten it away,” she said.
According to her, global investment capital is increasingly flowing to countries with credible policies, predictable regulations and bankable projects, noting that Nigeria has embarked on far-reaching reforms to position itself as a preferred investment destination.
She said the Tinubu administration had recalibrated fiscal terms, streamlined regulatory oversight, introduced targeted incentives and significantly reduced contracting timelines to restore investor confidence.
“We made a clear statement to the world: Nigeria is no longer asking to be trusted; Nigeria is working to be bankable,” Verheijen said.
Highlighting the impact of the reforms, she disclosed that Nigeria now has more than $50 billion worth of upstream oil and gas projects in its visible investment pipeline, while over $10 billion in long-delayed Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) have been secured within the last three years.
She added that crude oil and condensate production has increased by about 400,000 barrels per day since 2023, with onshore production reaching its highest level in two decades.
Verheijen said the Federal Government is targeting crude oil production of three million barrels per day and gas output of 10 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2030 as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s energy security and economic growth.
On the power sector, she said the Presidential Power Sector Financial Reforms Programme was designed to restore confidence across the electricity value chain through the resolution of legacy debts estimated at about ₦4 trillion.
According to her, the initiative is expected to improve payment discipline, encourage investment and enhance electricity supply for industries, businesses and households.
She also reiterated the government’s commitment to expanding domestic gas utilisation, describing natural gas as Nigeria’s industrial backbone for power generation, fertiliser production, petrochemicals, compressed natural gas (CNG) transportation and cleaner household cooking.
Acknowledging the recent rise in cooking gas prices, Verheijen said the government is implementing measures to improve domestic LPG supply and affordability, including tax incentives and import duty waivers for gas infrastructure.
She disclosed that since January 2024, the government has supported Import Duty Exemption Certificates for LPG infrastructure worth about $92.6 million, while the 2024 VAT Modification Order has removed VAT on LPG and related equipment, including cylinders, valves, regulators, conversion kits and installation services.
Verheijen described the Dangote Refinery as evidence that Africa can deliver industrial-scale energy projects, adding that indigenous participation in Nigeria’s gas sector has grown from 69 per cent to 83 per cent.
She cited companies such as Seplat, Oando and Renaissance as examples of indigenous firms emerging as major players in Africa’s energy industry.
While acknowledging that economic reforms have imposed short-term hardships on Nigerians, Verheijen maintained that they are necessary to secure long-term prosperity.
“We have not finished the work,” she said. “Inflation, affordability, security, metering, infrastructure and execution still demand urgency. But let no one confuse unfinished work with failed work.”
She urged stakeholders to judge the administration by measurable outcomes, including rising investment, improved production, reforms in the power sector and the expansion of domestic gas infrastructure.
“The age of Nigerian hesitation is ending. The age of Nigerian ambition has begun. Our task now is to turn reform into relief, capital into projects, projects into jobs, and energy into national greatness,” she said.
