Energy
At GOCOP Confab: Liyel Imoke says alleged expenditure of a phantom $16b delayed Nigeria’s power sector reforms
Imoke, who was also Chairman of the Power Sector Technical Board under the Obasanjo administration, stated this as a matter of fact in his keynote at the 8th Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), themed: “Nigeria: Tackling insecurity, power deficit, and transitioning to digital economy.”
Admitting that the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), as it then was, was a monopoly, he said that electricity distribution was also a monopoly even as the execution of so many programmes faced various challenges.
He referred to the undue delay in implementation of the power sector reforms, which resulted from the probe of the claim of a phantom expenditure of $16 billion on the sector under the administration.
According to him: “The power sector probe took about two years. The delay led to huge cost overruns; doubling costs of various contracts awarded during my tenure. Several of these projects were delayed in completion. As we speak, we still have several IPP projects that are ongoing.”
He said that at the end of the probe, they found out that there was no missing $16b, but lamented that the alleged expenditure of the phantom $16b had been used as a political tool to criticize “those of us in government.”
Imoke fingered inadequate information as the trigger for the allegation, pointing out that, for instance, on his watch as Minister of Power, the actual spending was between $2b and $3b, much of which went to the original electric manufacturer.
The former power minister said that insecurity, power deficit, and the slowness in Nigeria’s transition to a full digital economy were challenges impeding national growth and development.
According to him: “These are challenges that impede our growth as a nation. They make us less globally competitive. If you look at electricity insecurity and digital economy and if we tackle these, we will be on our way to economic growth.”
He said to unlock Nigeria’s potential, the administration must tackle insecurity, noting that there had been insurgency and the emergence of Boko Haram, which split into ISWAP.
“We have experienced banditry, kidnapping, armed killings, mass kidnapping, and illegal mining. These days, we can’t go to a gathering of this magnitude without seeing someone who had been kidnapped before. This is one of our new realities,” he stated.
He implicated ethnic tension as a contributory cause of communal violence, adding that grievances in the Niger Delta caused a lot of insecurity in the region in the 2000s.
Imoke spoke about organized private crimes in the Gulf of Guinea, which created insecurity in the area and the separatist marginalization in the southeast region, leading to agitation
He stated that, for instance, between 2009 and 2020, insurgency by Boko Haram alone resulted in over 40,000 deaths.
Imoke listed poverty, high unemployment rate, which was in 1999 put at six per cent, in 2022 put at 22 per cent but which as of today is approaching 40 per cent, weak governance and corruption as well as climate change, as some of the factors that contributed or fuelled insecurity in the country.
He also listed proliferation of small arms and violent crimes across the country as a sore thumb, lamenting that there were more arms with some non-state actors put in their hands by desperate politicians and which at the end of elections, were not retrieved from them and on which they now depended to survive.
Saying that hope was not lost, Imoke declared that successive administrations had succeeded in degrading Boko Haram and recovering territories in the Northeast hitherto seized by the group.
According to him, “The military was able to degrade the group and reclaim the areas in the Northeast around Maiduguri.”
He listed other successes as the decrease in Boko Haram insurgency and deaths by 23 per cent according to the global terrorism index, adding that “there is also reduction of militancy in the Niger Delta as there is no more MEND in the region.”
He continued: “Oil production has significantly rebounded until recently because during the era of MEND, oil production dropped below 1.5 m barrels per day.
“There is anti-piracy measure launched through NIMASA and international collaborators to reduce the piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. Piracy decreased by 58 per cent between 2020 and 2021 in the Gulf of Guinea.
“In the Southeast, the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu is an achievement in the region…Nigerian government has increased its surveillance measures; its counter insurgency operation has been used in combating terrorism. We now have drone technology and others to attack security issues across the board. The persistent Boko Haram issue has been watered down, but there is a humanitarian issue. About 2.7m people have been affected. The UN said that 350,000 people have died as a result of insurgency.”
He, however, noted that Herder-farmers’ conflict was still ongoing, pointing out that over 2,600 people were reportedly killed in 2021 alone.
The former Cross River State governor said that continued separatist agitation had led to the death of police officers as well as IPoB members, adding that there had been extra judicial killings and arbitrary arrests, among others.
He said a multifaceted approach was required to effectively tackle security issues in Nigeria, recommending among others community policing, which should be legally regulated, deployment of vigilance groups in securing the communities, and giving consideration to decentralisation of security rather than centralisation that has not worked.
He also established a nexus between security and economy, arguing that “until we can address the state of our economy, we will not able to address security issues effectively.”
He stated that education, skill acquisition, entrepreneurship training, and access to SMES funding were key, adding that a strong and comprehensive rural development programme was necessary to address banditry and farmer-herder conflicts.
“I am a strong believer in peace and mediation. If the government can establish dialogue platforms between farmers and herders, it would reduce competition over land,” he said.
He also said that the procurement process must be transparent and resources should be deployed in the welfare and training of security personnel, adding that the nation’s judicial system must be able to tackle impunity.
While dwelling on power deficit, Imoke said that there was a lack of continuation of policies and programmes, pointing out that “your predecessor is your most valuable material. We always assume that our predecessor did not know anything, and there is a tendency to want to start afresh. It is important for me to always go back to my predecessor to ask for guidance.”
Admitting that electricity problem in Nigeria is the most humongous problem ever, Imoke said that with over 200 million Nigerians, the country’s installed capacity was like 13,000 megawatts. He said: “It sounds like good news, but we only manage to distribute an average of 4,000 megawatts whereas there are potential distributable 20,000 megawatts.”
He reeled out some sobering comparative statistics about per capita electricity consumption by Nigeria and some countries on the African continent based on recent data.
According to the data referred to by Imoke, “Nigeria per capita electricity consumption is between 150 and 200 kilowatts hours per year (kilowatts hour is the amount of electricity delivered to each household in the country in a year); Ghana is between 800 and 1000 kilowatts hour per year; South Africa is between 4000 and 5000 kilowatts hours per year while Ivory coast is between 500 and 600 kilowatts hour per year.”
Imoke lamented the Nigerian situation, adding that “these tell you the strengths of industrial bases of these countries.”
He, however, noted that despite numerous reforms in Nigeria, the power sector had continued to struggle.
Imoke asked if there was a solution in the face of growing demand? He resolved the question somewhat in the negative, pointing out that with the exponential growth in Nigerian’s population, there was a concomitant rising demand on the electricity supply.
On the transitioning to digital economy, Imoke said the growth in e-commerce platforms like Jumia and others was allowing for competition and efficiency.
According to him: “We are in the fourth industrial revolution, and it is a digital revolution. We missed out on the first, second, and third industrial revolutions. It is for us now as a nation, with a deliberateness of government policy, not to lose out on the fourth industrial revolution.
“All the three sectors-security, power and digital economy – are critical to our growth. The three are intertwined challenges that Nigerian must address to unlock her potential.
“With the collective effort of all, Nigerian can truly emerge as a global leader. Let us seize this moment to build a secure, electrified, and digitalized Nigerian that offers prosperity, growth, and development to all.”
Two commercial vessels have successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz despite ongoing tensions in the Gulf, as Iran submitted its response to a United States proposal aimed at ending the war and reopening peace talks.
Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Tehran’s response was transmitted through Pakistan, which has been mediating between both sides.
According to Iranian state television, the response focused on ending hostilities “on all fronts”, particularly in Lebanon, and guaranteeing the safety of maritime traffic through the strategic waterway. The report, however, did not specify when or how the strait would fully reopen to international shipping.
The development came after Washington proposed halting the fighting before broader negotiations on contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme. Reuters reports that there was no immediate reaction from the United States government.
The Strait of Hormuz, which previously handled about one-fifth of global oil supplies, has remained one of the most volatile flashpoints in the conflict, with Tehran restricting non-Iranian vessels from transiting the route.
Despite the tension, it was reported that the QatarEnergy-operated liquefied natural gas carrier, Al Kharaitiyat, safely crossed the strait and headed for Pakistan’s Port Qasim, according to shipping analytics firm Kpler.
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The vessel became the first Qatari LNG carrier to transit the strait since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28.
Sources familiar with the arrangement said Iran approved the shipment to help ease Pakistan’s worsening electricity shortages caused by disrupted gas imports and to build confidence with both Qatar and Pakistan, which have been involved in mediation efforts.
Also on Sunday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that a Panama-flagged bulk carrier bound for Brazil passed through the strait using a designated route approved by Iranian armed forces after an earlier failed attempt on May 4.
The passage of the vessels came amid continuing regional security threats.
Meanwhile, as tensions persist around the strategic waterway, Britain announced that it was deploying HMS Dragon, one of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 destroyers, to the Middle East ahead of a possible multinational mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the UK Ministry of Defence, the warship would “pre-position” in the region for a “potential role” in a future “strictly defensive and independent” operation.
BBC reports that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is championing the proposed mission alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, said the operation would only proceed after active fighting in the region ends.
The deployment comes after months of disruption in the strait, which Iran has been controlling in retaliation for attacks by the US and Israel.
HMS Dragon, designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare, recently operated in the eastern Mediterranean, where it was tasked with protecting British air bases in Cyprus following a drone attack near RAF Akrotiri in March.
The UK Ministry of Defence said the latest deployment formed “part of prudent planning” and would allow the warship to contribute immediately to any future multinational maritime security mission.
The ministry added that the mission “provides the UK Armed Forces with additional options for the defensive multinational Hormuz mission”.
Last month, representatives from 51 countries reportedly met to discuss securing commercial shipping through the strait, with Britain and France leading discussions on a coordinated response.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is facing growing pressure to end the conflict ahead of a planned visit to China this week, amid mounting fears that the war could deepen the global energy crisis and further destabilise the world economy.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani reportedly told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi that using the Strait of Hormuz as a “pressure tool” would worsen the crisis.
According to Qatar’s foreign ministry, the prime minister stressed during a telephone conversation that “freedom of navigation should not be compromised.” Over the weekend, oil prices hovered around $100 per barrel, according to reports by Oilprice.com.
As ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, driven by the US-Israel conflict with Iran, have removed an estimated 10 million barrels of oil per day from the global market, Africa, with Nigeria at the forefront, is emerging as the most viable region to help bridge the widening supply gap.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, stated this while speaking during the Africa Energy Forum at the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, United States.
Eyesan declared that Africa has become the new focal point of global energy discussions owing to its 125 billion barrels and 625 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, respectively, representing 10 per cent of global reserves.
She noted that the sudden shortfall has shifted global attention to under-explored regions and that the only continent that promises to fill the supply gap is Africa.
“Today, we believe that about 10 million barrels have been taken off the market in a situation where you had a slight oversupply at one time. With 10 million off the market, there’s a huge deficit. The question on everybody’s lips is where this deficit will come from. Or rather, who will fill the gap?
“Let’s x-ray the North Sea. The North Sea was prolific in the past but is declining. North America, same story. And if you layer Asia on that, it’s all decline. However, the only continent that is showing promise today is no other than Africa”, she said.
Citing discoveries and huge oil and gas reserves across the continent, she pointed to Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Senegal, and Namibia as examples.
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However, with such abundant reserves in Africa, she said the challenge was how to convert those opportunities into value.
For Nigeria, the NUPRC boss said the answer has been regulatory reform credited to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), enacted in 2021, which she noted was triggering a rebirth in the upstream, midstream, and downstream oil and gas sector.
“Nigeria has experienced a rebirth since 2021 and the rebirth was instrumental to the change and the opportunities that Nigeria has today.
“The PIA has provided fiscal clarity, regulatory efficiency, contract certainty, and transparency across the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments.
“The only way Africa, sitting on huge resources, can bridge that gap successfully is if we have the right regulatory systems to support the business terrain. And Nigeria is not alone in that march,” the NUPRC boss said.
In Nigeria, Eyesan said the results are already evident in investment trends compared to ten years before the PIA, when there was a steep decline in investment in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
According to her, “About 15 years before the PIA, we were comfortably spending $15 billion annually on the upstream business. This declined to less than $7 billion at some point. Today, we see an upswing.”
She told the global audience in the room that several multi-billion-dollar Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) have been secured or are on the verge of being committed, including the Shell Bonga Project, the Ubeita Non-Associated Gas Project, the HI Gas Project, and the Zabazaba-Etan Field, which was expected to unlock $10.38 billion.
“These are huge projects and a signal that the tide has turned”, Eyesan stated.
In 2024 alone, she said the NUPRC approved 48 Field Development Plans (FDPs), describing that as a major index of progress in the oil and gas industry.
She said the industry has witnessed the enablements from the PIA and that opportunities were just waiting to be unlocked.
She reiterated that the ongoing licensing round, where 50 blocks are offered, and 300 companies are competing, would be concluded by the third quarter of 2026.
Eyesan also announced that another bid round would commence before the end of the 2025 bid round, saying that this was an indication that the opportunities were immense.
To support bidders, Eyesan said NUPRC was enhancing its National Data Repository with large-scale 2D and 3D seismic data acquisition through multi-client partnerships.
She expressed confidence that bidders who finally acquire the assets will work them and bring them to market in the shortest possible time.
To enable this, she explained that the data repository was also being upgraded for advanced analytics, as they seek to embrace artificial intelligence to quicken the process.
Underscoring the importance of capital investment in optimising Africa’s huge untapped oil and gas resources, Eyesan framed the continent’s energy challenge as one of infrastructure and capital rather than resources.
She recalled that Africa took the brunt during the start of the conversation on energy transition due to a lack of investment and infrastructure.
She urged investors to come and invest in the African oil and gas industry, assuring them of a quick return on their investments.
She added that Nigeria’s experience under the PIA demonstrates what was possible, saying: “The PIA has enabled a turnaround in the oil and gas industry. The opportunities are immense. The regulatory environment is there.”
Nigeria’s local refiners could not take up an estimated $3.13bn worth of crude oil offered to them in Q1 2026.
This was gleaned from data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which indicates that while crude producers made significant volumes available under the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO), refiners were unable to take delivery of a large portion due to persistent commercial and structural challenges.
The latest data showed a significant mismatch between crude availability and actual refinery offtake, despite regulatory efforts to deepen domestic refining. The figures indicate that producers collectively made available 68.7 million barrels of crude between January and March, far above allocated requirements, yet refiners struggled to convert the offers into actual deliveries.
This translates to a weak conversion rate of about 36–46 per cent, underscoring persistent structural and commercial bottlenecks in the domestic crude supply chain.
Findings showed that the total gap between crude offered and actual refinery offtake stood at 40.3 million barrels in the three-month period, with the shortfall valued at about $3.13bn using conservative average prices.
Figures released by the NUPRC indicated that while 61.9 million barrels were allocated to domestic refiners during the period, oil producers collectively offered 68.7 million barrels.
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However, actual deliveries lagged significantly, with refiners lifting just 28.5 million barrels, indicating that crude producers supplied local refineries with less than half of the volumes allocated under the country’s domestic crude supply rules.
The development underscores a persistent gap between crude availability and actual refinery intake, raising fresh concerns over feedstock adequacy for Nigeria’s refining ambitions.
In the press statement earlier issued by the commission, the NUPRC Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, said the data reflected ongoing efforts to enforce the DCSO in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The statement read, “The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has released the statistics on the enforcement of the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation in accordance with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act.
“A summary of the monthly allocation shows that 61.9 million barrels of crude oil were allocated to domestic refineries during the quarter, while producers collectively offered a higher volume of 68.7 million barrels. However, actual supply to local refineries was 28.5 million barrels, translating to a supply conversion rate of 36-46 per cent as of the end of the first quarter 2026.”
A breakdown of the value of rejected crude revealed that in January, producers offered 25.3 million barrels, but refiners lifted only 9.2 million barrels, leaving a shortfall of 16.1 million barrels valued at approximately $1.09bn.
In February, out of the 19.8 million barrels offered, refiners took 9.1 million barrels, resulting in a gap of 10.7 million barrels worth about $749m. Similarly, in March, refiners lifted 10.1 million barrels from the 23.6 million barrels offered, leaving 13.5 million barrels unutilised, with an estimated value of $1.28bn.
The data underscores a persistent disconnect between crude supply and refinery demand, despite regulatory efforts to prioritise local refining under the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.
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