Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to fulfilling all obligations as the host country for the African Petroleum Producers Organisation and the newly established Africa Energy Bank.
This assurance was given during a visit by APPO’s Secretary General, Omar Ibrahim, to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, in Abuja on Wednesday.
During the meeting, Ibrahim expressed his satisfaction with Nigeria’s efforts so far and highlighted the significance of the country winning the hosting rights for the Africa Energy Bank Headquarters.
“This is my first visit to Nigeria after Nigeria had won the hosting rights to the Africa Energy Bank Headquarters. As a Nigerian, I am very happy with this. I am very pleased and very proud of what you’ve done,” he said.
He also acknowledged the challenges faced during the selection process, emphasising that Nigeria’s victory was well-deserved.
“I want to make it very clear that Nigeria won and won fair and square,” he noted.
He further appealed to the Nigerian government to ensure that the promises made to APPO are fulfilled, stating, “I want to appeal to you today, Your Excellency, to help us to keep the Nigeria name flying.”
The APO Secretary-General outlined three critical areas where Nigeria’s commitment is crucial: the hosting right agreement, the preparation of the headquarters, and addressing the gap between what Nigeria pledged and what has been delivered so far.
“These are issues we can talk about in camera,” Ibrahim added, urging for prompt action to meet the expectations of other APPO member countries.
In response, Minister Lokpobiri commended Ibrahim for his leadership and the transformation of APPO under his tenure.
“Since your ascension into the office as Secretary General of APPO, APPO has been rebranded. APPO has grown exponentially to the level it is today, and we as Nigerians are very proud of you, not just as our ambassador but as an ambassador of Africa,” Lokpobiri said.
The Minister assured that Nigeria is fully committed to its role as the host country and is working diligently to meet the September deadline for the bank’s operations.
“We are working day and night to ensure that we meet the September ending deadline, and I’m certain that we will meet the deadline,” Lokpobiri emphasised.
The minister added, “Even if we don’t meet the deadline, the whole of Africa will see that we have put everything in place and the bank will start.”
Addressing the specific concerns raised by Ibrahim, Lokpobiri reiterated that the Nigerian government is actively working on the host country agreement, the headquarters building, and the balance of the subscription.
“These three issues are issues that we’re working on very seriously to fulfil before the end of September,” he assured.
