According to him, the Act ended a long-standing federal monopoly and effectively created 37 emerging electricity markets across the federation under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has said the country’s power sector reforms offer a working model for how developing economies can strengthen global energy security amid rising geopolitical fragmentation.
The law, he noted, has opened the sector to state-level regulation, private investment, and more decentralized power solutions, allowing states to generate, transmit and distribute electricity within their jurisdictions.
FOUR PROPOSITIONS FOR GLOBAL ENERGY POLICY
Tegbe set out four key propositions for delegates at the summit:
1. Diversification, not diplomatic disengagement, is the surest form of strategic insurance for nations navigating a fractured world.
2. Grids now deserve the same strategic seriousness historically reserved for fuel supply. A resilient transmission and distribution network is as critical as the molecule or electron itself.
3. Affordability is itself a security issue. Energy that is not affordable to citizens and businesses cannot sustain economic stability or social peace.
4. The global energy transition must be orderly, just, and responsive to the circumstances of individual nations. One-size-fits-all policies will not work.The Minister made a strong case for Africa’s place at the center of global energy planning. “Africa, home to 600 million people still without electricity, sits not at the periphery of global energy geopolitics but at its centre,” Tegbe said.
He pointed to the continent’s vast mineral wealth, solar resource, youthful workforce, and fast-growing demand as factors that will shape energy security in London, Tokyo, Washington and Dubai alike in the decades ahead.He urged the global community to move beyond partnerships focused only on raw resource extraction.
“We need partnerships that include local processing, manufacturing, skills transfer and patient capital,” he said. “That is how we build industries, create jobs, and ensure energy access that lasts.”In his closing remarks, the Minister extended an open invitation to investors and governments present at the summit.
“Nigeria has chosen to build. Africa has chosen to build. And we invite you, in the spirit of this remarkable city and this landmark fiftieth summit, to build with us,” Tegbe told delegates.
He said Nigeria was ready to work with partners who share the vision of sustainable, inclusive, and commercially viable energy development across the continent. The Minister’s engagements in Dubai are expected to continue through the week. As part of the summit’s Africa Spotlight programme, he will participate in a ministerial fireside chat on financing Africa’s power future, where discussions will focus on unlocking investment for grid expansion, renewable integration, and off-grid solutions.
Energy analysts note that Nigeria’s participation at Middle East Energy 2026 comes at a time when global attention is shifting toward energy security, supply chain resilience, and the role of emerging markets in the transition. With its gas resources, reform momentum, and large domestic market, Nigeria is increasingly being viewed as a bridge between traditional energy producers and the new energy economy.
The Federal Government has maintained that stable power is central to its economic agenda, and that attracting long-term capital will depend on keeping policy consistent and honoring contractual obligations.
As the summit continues, Tegbe’s message was clear: the future of global energy security will be decided not just in traditional energy capitals, but in places like Lagos, Nairobi, and Johannesburg. “Africa is not at the margins. Africa is the fulcrum,” he declared.