Why gas is best bet to lift 140 million Nigerians out of energy poverty

Nigeria’s abundant natural gas is the best solution to lift a decade-old energy challenge for 140 million Nigerians in energy poverty, according to findings by BusinessDay.

At the BusinessDay annual CEO Conference on Thursday, executives in Nigeria’s energy sector highlighted the need for Nigeria to prioritise gas if the country seeks to industrialise and compete in the global economy.

They said this development is capable of scaling the power value chain, where millions of families are still disconnected from power.

“The biggest resource that Africa’s most populous have is gas, which accounts for over 80 percent of the current power generation,” Adegbite Falade, managing director of Aradel Holdings, told business leaders in Nigeria’s commercial capital.

“If we’re able to bring more gas to the table, we would be doing so much in enabling the environment and the economy,” Falde added.

Nigeria has one of the largest gas reserves in Africa. According to data from the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, as of 2025, Nigeria recorded 2.71 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, leading Algeria and Mozambique.

Yet, the country remains one of the most energy-poor nations globally, generating barely 4,000 megawatts (MW) to 5,000MW of electricity for a population exceeding 220 million people.

Read also: Flawed pricing keeps investors on Nigeria’s gas sidelines

According to Falade, per capita statistics of electricity suggest that Nigeria is at about 46 kilowatts per individual.

“If you compare that to South Africa, which has over 2,400 it’s just helps you to appreciate the gap that we have,” he said.

Falade appealed for all uncompleted gas infrastructure projects to get speedy completion.

Effiong Okon, chief executive officer designate of Seplat Energy, said growth in the energy sector can only take place when stakeholders “fix the value chain.”

He said that gas should be treated as an “industrialisation fuel”, a move he noted could change the narrative of the sector in the next five years.

“Five years from now, Nigeria should be running on gas,” he said. “We have to first of all fix the value chain. People complain about not having electricity, but the challenge is that the value chain is broken.”

Other speakers emphasised that gas remains a “game changer” in driving growth for the country and the power sector. However, they pointed out that a lack of infrastructure is pulling the sector back.

Oladimeji Bashorun, chief executive officer of Energia, highlighted the need for infrastructure investment, commercial framework reforms, and policy execution to leverage the country’s abundant gas resources.

According to him, the completion of the AKK pipeline could unlock 2.2 BCF of gas, address commercial and pricing gaps, as well as secure payments for infrastructure investments.

The energy players all underscored the need for speed and calculated risks in accelerating gas utilisation and industrialisation in the power sector in a way that could benefit millions of people still trapped in darkness.