The Federal Government says it has settled more than ₦100 billion in outstanding gas debts since January 2026 as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s gas-to-power value chain.
The Special Adviser to the President on Oil and Gas, Olu Verheijen, disclosed this on Wednesday in her keynote address at the Africa Interviews Sustainability Forum 2026 in Lagos.
She said the settlement was made under the administration’s Presidential Power Sector Financial Reforms Programme, which is aimed at addressing financial challenges within the electricity sector.
Verheijen also highlighted measures introduced since 2023 to encourage the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for household cooking.
According to her, the government introduced import duty waivers and zero-rated value-added tax measures for LPG and gas cylinders to promote cleaner cooking alternatives and reduce dependence on firewood.
“A gas-rich nation cannot be comfortable while families remain stuck in the age of firewood,” she said.
The presidential aide attributed developments in the gas sector to reforms introduced under President Bola Tinubu’s administration to remove investment barriers and unlock Nigeria’s gas resources for industrialisation, electricity generation and economic growth.
She disclosed that Nigeria had recorded four final investment decisions in gas projects in less than two years, including the Ima project in September 2026. She also said average daily gas production had increased from about seven billion cubic feet to eight billion cubic feet.
Speaking on the country’s gas potential, Verheijen said Nigeria had more than 200 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves but cautioned that resource abundance alone could not guarantee economic prosperity.
“A country can sit on enormous natural wealth and fail to turn it into energy to power industry, industries that create jobs and jobs that help us grow incomes.
“What turns resources into prosperity is investment, consistent investment that responds to predictable incentives and a stable environment,” she said.
Verheijen said Tinubu had given his administration a clear mandate to identify and address the factors preventing investment from matching Nigeria’s economic potential.
“When President Bola Tinubu assumed office in 2023, he gave us a very clear mandate: understand why investment has not moved at the pace of Nigeria’s potential and fix it,” she said.
She described gas as central to the government’s reform agenda because of its importance to electricity generation, manufacturing, transportation, fertiliser production and cleaner cooking.
“Gas has been a priority within that reform agenda because Nigeria is, as you all know, even more gas-rich than it is oil-rich, and gas is arguably the most important physical resource for industrialisation,” she added.
Verheijen said indigenous producers were also playing an increasingly significant role in Nigeria’s gas supply, as the government sought to attract investment and expand production.
Addressing Africa’s energy transition, she argued that the continent should prioritise energy security, industrial development and job creation while pursuing environmental sustainability.
“For Africa, the energy transition must mean transformation, molecules converted into megawatts, fertiliser, petrochemicals, cleaner mobility, manufacturing, jobs and exports,” she said.
She maintained that African countries should retain the freedom to determine the pace of their energy transitions according to their development priorities and economic circumstances.
“The energy transition must also mean agency. Africa is right to decide for itself how fast it decarbonises, rather than having those choices made for us by others. It is about affirming our right to be the authors of our own energy transition,” she said.
Verheijen also stressed the importance of measuring and reducing methane emissions from gas operations, alongside ensuring that host communities benefited meaningfully from the development of the country’s gas resources.
