President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has reassured that the proposed Africa Energy Bank(AEB), which was envisaged to commence operations in the middle of 2025, is now set to open its doors for business.
The President made the reassurance while speaking at the commissioning of the $400 million Otakikpo Energy International Limited Crude Export Terminal in Andoni R/S on Wednesday.
Represented by the Minister of State For Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, President Tinubu while addressing the financing challenges in the oil and gas sector, said such was coming to an end as the $5 billion Africa Energy Bank would soon begin operations to provide easier access to funding.
“Let me also assure Green Energy that the era of seeking finance elsewhere will soon be over. We have discovered that Africa’s biggest challenge is access to finance, which is why we established the Africa Energy Bank, which is ready to take off. Nigeria, as the host country, has met all its obligations, legal and financial, and we expect the bank to commence operations any moment from now,” President Tinubu said.
The AEB, when it begins operations, is expected to reduce Africa’s dependence on Western financial institutions that are increasingly withdrawing from fossil fuel projects.
The AEB is expected to commence business with an initial capital base of $5billion contributed by African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) member states, with a target of a much larger asset base of $120 billion when fully operational.
Member states like Nigeria, Angola, and Ghana have fulfilled their capital contributions to the bank, which is the required minimum to begin operations. Meanwhile, additional pledges have been made by Algeria, Benin, Congo and Equitorial Guinea, and Ivory Coast.
By mobilizing internal resources through the AEB, African counteries can finance their own energy development priorities without external political or environmental restrictions.
