Nigeria has won the bid to host the $5 billion Africa Energy Bank (AEB), which aims to address funding crisis for energy infrastructure on the continent.
After an over four-hour meeting in Abuja yesterday, Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said his counterparts in the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) approved Nigeria to host the bank.
AEB, an initiative of APPO and Afrexim Bank, is expected to start with about $5 billion. Lokpobiri said the bank was necessary, given the financial crisis facing the push to address energy gap in Africa. He tagged the move a collective ambition to create African solutions to African energy challenges. stressing: “The African Energy Bank will be instrumental in providing the necessary financial backbone for energy projects that will drive growth across the continent.”
The minister disclosed that Ghana, Benin, Algeria, South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire were competitors in the bid, noting that establishment of AEB would mark a transformative era in meeting energy needs.
“We are committed to ensuring that this bank will not only move Nigeria forward, but will also be a beacon of progress for the entire continent.
“Our goal is to foster sustainable energy solutions that are both innovative and inclusive,” he emphasised. Being a part of Agenda 2065 of the African Union (AU), the minister noted that the bank would facilitate access to funding for energy projects, thereby catalysing economic growth and enhancing energy security.
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