…Calls for Competitive Markets, Strategic Investment and Good Governance to Unlock Nigeria’s Gas Potential
Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources will not automatically translate into economic prosperity unless they are effectively monetized through sustained investment, modern infrastructure, competitive markets and sound governance, according to Professor Emeritus of Petroleum Economics, Wumi Iledare.
Delivering the 2026 Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah Memorial Lecture at the University of Ibadan under the auspices of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), University of Ibadan Student Chapter, Professor Iledare challenged the conventional narrative that resource abundance alone guarantees national development.
Speaking on the theme “Unlocking Nigeria’s Gas Potential: Investment, Infrastructure and Policy in the PIA Era – From Resource Endowment to National Prosperity,” he argued that Nigeria’s greatest challenge is no longer discovering natural gas but creating the economic, institutional, and policy conditions required to transform gas resources into sustainable prosperity.
“Natural resources alone create no prosperity. Prosperity is created only when resources are transformed into productive assets through investment, infrastructure, competitive markets, and effective institutions,” Professor Iledare stated.
He observed that although Nigeria possesses more than 210 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, ranking among the world’s leading gas nations, the country continues to experience energy poverty, inadequate electricity supply, persistent gas flaring and underdeveloped domestic gas markets.
Describing this contradiction as “the Nigerian Gas Paradox,” Professor Iledare stressed that the nation’s energy challenge is fundamentally one of governance and market development rather than geology.
According to him, the National Gas Policy of 2017 marked a strategic shift by envisioning Nigeria’s transformation from an oil-producing nation with gas into a gas-powered industrial economy.
He noted that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 further strengthened this vision through dedicated gas incentives, institutional reforms, and improved regulatory clarity.
However, he emphasized that legislation alone cannot deliver results. “The PIA provides a credible framework, but implementation — not legislation — will determine whether Nigeria realizes its gas aspirations,” he said.
Professor Iledare identified inadequate infrastructure, weak domestic gas markets, inconsistent regulatory practices, financing constraints, and liquidity challenges in the electricity value chain as major impediments to gas sector development.
He maintained that pricing remains the cornerstone of a sustainable gas market, explaining that successful gas pricing policies must simultaneously satisfy four conditions: affordability for consumers, competitiveness relative to alternative fuels, adequate returns for investors and predictability for long-term investment decisions.
“The objective of gas pricing policy is not to make natural gas cheap. It is to make gas competitive, accessible and sustainably supplied. Affordability is a social objective; sustainability is an economic imperative,” he explained.
The lecture further emphasized that Nigeria should pursue multiple gas monetization pathways, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), gas-to-power, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG), fertilizers, petrochemicals, methanol and other industrial applications, rather than depending on any single market.
Professor Iledare also underscored the importance of completing critical gas infrastructure projects, deepening private sector participation, strengthening domestic gas markets, improving liquidity in the gas-to-power value chain and maintaining policy consistency to sustain investor confidence.
He concluded that the future competitiveness of Nigeria’s gas economy will depend less on the quantity of its reserves than on the quality of its institutions and policy choices.
“Nigeria’s gas future will ultimately be determined not by the abundance of its resources but by the quality of our decisions. Governance — not geology — determines whether natural resources become national prosperity.”
Professor Iledare dedicated the lecture to the enduring legacy of Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah, describing him as a visionary whose lifelong commitment to excellence, integrity and national development continues to inspire a new generation of petroleum and energy professionals.
He challenged students, policymakers and industry leaders to embrace innovation, professionalism and ethical leadership in building a competitive, inclusive and sustainable gas economy capable of driving Nigeria’s industrial transformation.
About the Emmanuel Egbogah Memorial Lecture
The Emmanuel Egbogah Memorial Lecture honours the life and legacy of Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah (1942–2018), an internationally respected petroleum engineer, industry leader, and nation builder whose contributions significantly shaped Nigeria’s petroleum industry. The annual lecture provides a platform for advancing informed discourse on petroleum, energy policy, governance and sustainable national development.