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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea have signed a $2.5 billion agreement to construct a 200-kilometer gas pipeline aimed at boosting gas exports between the two countries.
Speaking on the deal, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, highlighted the economic benefits, noting the project will increase Nigeria’s gas production while supplying Equatorial Guinea’s underutilized LNG and methanol plants.
He said negotiations for the pipeline, which will supply stranded Nigerian gas, are expected to continue following the signing.
On his part, the Minister of Defence, Badaru Mohammed, disclosed that Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea are in discussions to strengthen defence co-operation, including joint patrols to combat oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea.
He added that a joint committee is being constituted to oversee joint patrols, policing, and security on their shared borders and the Gulf of Guinea.
He expressed optimism that the collaboration will yield robust engagement and effective prevention of illegal activities in the region.
“There are discussions on defence agreement, not signed yet, but there is a joint committee for joint patrol, policing and security on our borders and the Gulf of Guinea, and that discussion is on.
“When constituted, i am sure we will have robust engagement or patrols on the sea that will prevent all illegalities happening around the Gulf of Guinea”, he said.
Asked if the agreement would address oil theft, Badaru replied, “yes, this is part of it. The security patrol will certainly check illegal movements of crude oil from both countries, which will really help reduce the illegal movement of stolen oil”.
The proposed joint effort aims to curb the scourge of oil theft, a major challenge facing both nations, and other forms of illegal activities in the maritime environment.
Minister of Youth, Jamila Bio-Ibrahim, also stated that Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea are finalizing an agreement aimed at promoting youth development and collaboration between the two countries.
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She stated that the treaty, to be finalized later this year, will focus on areas such as peer learning, skills development, and transfer.
Bio-Ibrahim said the agreement will also explore the possibility of Equatorial Guinea adopting Nigeria’s National Youth Service (NYSC) initiative.
She stressed that the treaty will provide opportunities for Nigerian youth to produce commodities for Equatorial Guinea, leveraging the country’s larger population.
She added that the agreement will support collaboration in sectors such as furniture production, agro-forestry, fashion, and garment, as well as other cash crops.
“Well, the purpose of coming with Mr. President on this trip to Equatorial Guinea was to explore areas of youth development with our Equatorial Guinean counterparts and we’re in the process of arriving at an agreement on youth development with my counterpart, which we will be finalising through the Joint Commission, which comes up later this year.
“From Mr. President speech at several of our engagements, and bilateral meetings, he has clearly stated his commitment to collaborating with other African leaders to ensure that we harness the youth demography, the bulge of young people in Africa, towards transformational economic development of the continent and that it’s only when we’re strong as a continent and all the leaders come together that we can harness the potential of our young people across the continent”, she said.
Bio-Ibrahim noted President Tinubu’s commitment to collaborating with African leaders to harness the continent’s youth demographic for transformational economic development.
“Well, I cannot say 100 per cent right now, because it is not finalised. I will just give you a few of the points that we’ve mutually agreed upon, like the NYSC for instance, they’re considering collaboration,and to see how we can actually engage in peer learning, skills development and transfer.
“We want to see, even though Equatorial Guinea is not a country as populous as Nigeria, we want to also see how we can support and collaborate by producing, channeling some of our youth population to be producing commodities for equatorial Guinea across various sectors.
Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, emphasised the trip’s significance for Nigeria’s international relations and economic development.
Highlighting a landmark gas agreement, the minister noted that discussions also focused on visa policies and trade, aiming to enhance travel and economic interactions among African nations.
He assured that efforts are underway to facilitate easier movement between countries, with an agreement expected to be finalized by November. Regarding security, he mentioned that while a gas agreement has been signed, further defense agreements are still under review to ensure they align with Nigeria’s interests before being finalized.
