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By Adewale Sanyaolu
Nigeria is positioning itself to emerge as Africa’s gas and manufacturing hub as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) opens new opportunities for cross-border energy investment, regional value chains and large-scale industrialisation, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr. Ekperikpe Ekpo, has said.
Speaking at the Nigerian Local Content AfCFTA Energy Summit organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Lagos, Ekpo said the continent’s trade integration framework provides a critical pathway for monetising Africa’s vast gas resources and translating them into industrial growth, jobs and competitiveness.
According to him, AfCFTA offers Africa a chance to move beyond fragmented national markets toward integrated regional production systems at a time when global energy supply chains are being reshaped by geopolitics, climate policies and shifting capital flows.
For energy investors and manufacturers, Ekpo noted that the trade pact creates a platform to unlock cross-border investments, harmonise standards, expand shared infrastructure and allow the free movement of energy services, technology and skilled labour across African markets.
“This is essential if Africa is to move from being largely a supplier of raw resources to a producer of value-added energy products and solutions,” he said.
The Minister described natural gas as Africa’s most viable transition fuel, stressing that Nigeria’s extensive gas reserves place it at the centre of a continent-wide push to power industries, improve energy access and strengthen manufacturing competitiveness under the AfCFTA framework.
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He said government policy is focused on deploying gas to drive power generation, fertiliser production, petrochemicals, transportation and regional energy trade, positioning Nigeria as a supply and processing hub for neighbouring markets.
Ekpo also cautioned that trade liberalisation must be backed by strong local content frameworks to ensure African companies benefit from increased market access rather than being displaced by external players.
He pointed to Nigeria’s local content model as evidence that deliberate regulation, capacity building and targeted financing can deepen indigenous participation across the energy value chain and be replicated across the continent under AfCFTA.
Looking ahead, the Minister called for coordinated public- and private-sector action to treat pipelines, LNG facilities and logistics corridors as shared regional infrastructure, while ramping up investment in innovation, skills development and technology transfer.
He said aligning gas development with AfCFTA could unlock a new phase of African industrial growth anchored on energy security, regional trade and African-owned value chains.
