The Federal Government has expressed its commitment towards making the south South region of the country a regional hub for commercial gas utilisation.
This is against the backdrop of the region’s “huge reserves, infrastructure potential, a peaceful investment climate, and most importantly, governments and people ready to partner for development.”
Ekperikpe Ekpo, minister of petroleum resources (gas) made this known in address at the south South gas utilisation forum 2025 held in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.
“Our vision must be clear: to turn gas into jobs, gas into power, gas into industries, and ultimately, gas into prosperity for our people.
“This means attracting investments into gas-based industries, such as petrochemicals, fertilisers, modular refineries, and CNG for transport.
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“It also means building reliable gas infrastructure to connect supply to demand centres and ensuring that our young people are trained and ready to take advantage of the opportunities in the evolving gas economy” Ekpo stated
He said with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021, the role of GACN has been further strengthened. The PIA provides a solid legal and regulatory framework to ensure that the domestic gas market is not only commercially viable but also socially impactful.
Ekpo who underscored the critical role of the PIA 2021 in making significant provisions for host communities in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector said it marked a shift towards inclusive development, environmental accountability, and community participation.
“The most notable feature is the creation of the Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT), which is intended to ensure that oil and gas host communities benefit directly from petroleum operations in their areas.
This Trust ensures that funds contributed by operating companies—amounting to 3% of their actual operating expenditure—are deployed for critical social infrastructure, education, health, and economic empowerment within the host communities.
” It provides for community participation in governance and guarantees that communities are no longer bystanders but co-owners in the development process.
According to him, it is in line with a deeper collaboration between producers and host communities, not as a corporate responsibility, but as a shared developmental mission.
He commended GACN saying that since its establishment in 2010 as the Federal Government’s Strategic Aggregator under the National Domestic Gas Supply and Pricing Regulations, the Company has played a crucial role in ensuring the availability and equitable distribution of gas to the domestic market.
Let us remember that this is not just a South-South agenda, it is a national imperative.
The Federal Government, under the visionary leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has declared the Decade of Gas and is committed to making Nigeria a gas-powered economy.
“What we do here in Akwa Ibom and the wider South-South region must serve as a model for other parts of the country. Let us therefore approach this engagement with ambition, innovation, and unity of purpose.
“The opportunities are vast. The tools are in our hands.
He urged the people to “move boldly from gas potential to gas prosperity: To move from gas potential to industrial hubs and innovation centres and to turn gas revenue into tangible impact for our communities;
The minister emphasized that steps must be taken to ensure that the people of the South-South region, especially “our host communities, are not left behind, but carried along every step of the way, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (2021).”
In his remarks, Chijioke Uxihi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Gas Aggregator Company Nigeria(GACN) expressed commitment to partner with all stakeholders to ‘unlovk the potentials of gas commetcikusstion in the south South region.”
According to him, the south South region has the potential to be the powerful of Nigeria’s economic transformation adding that real progress will come from effective partnership between the public and private sector actors and between the federal government and sub nationals.
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Uxoho restated the resolve of GACN to ‘partner with all stakeholders to unlock the gas commercialisation in the region.
In his remarks, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Senator Akon Ayakenyi said the submit has not only deepened government’s understanding of the immense opportunities in the gas development across the South South region but has reinforced it shared commitment to collaborate actions, sound policy alignment and sustainable resource management.
Eno said that state government remains resolute in its belief that the gas sector if properly harnessee can serve as a “catalyst for industrialization, environmental innovations and inclusive prosperity for our people” adding that the State Government is committed to doing its part by creating and enabling environment for investment and ensuring strict adherence to environmental standards and community benefits framework.
In a brief remark, Olalekan Ogunleye, , Executive Vice President, Gas, Power and New Energies at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company limited identified investment worth $3.5bn in the region which he said I’m mixed offshore gas pipeline, intracountry pipeline, methanol plant and fertilizer plant as well as a floating Liquified Natural Gas plant in the region.
The south south gas utilisation is being attended by governors of the region and key players in the oil and gas industry of the nation’s economy.
