Experts Urge Nigeria to Redefine Oil and Gas Sector for Industrial Growth
By Patience Ikpeme
Experts at a high-level dialogue hosted by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) are calling for a significant change in Nigeria’s approach to its oil and gas sector.
The consensus from the meeting, themed “Unlocking Industrial Growth Series: The Evolving Oil and Gas Ecosystem,” is that the country should stop seeing its oil and gas resources as merely a source of income and instead use them to actively drive industrialization and economic growth.
This shift requires a fundamental change in strategy, moving away from a model that simply extracts resources to one that focuses on adding value, fostering innovation, and developing local content.
Mr. Kelvin Emmanuel, Thematic Lead of the NESG Oil and Gas Thematic Group, set the stage for the discussion by observing that Nigeria is still behind other nations in industrial progress.
He pointed out that Nigeria ranks 8th on Africa’s Industrialisation Index and 98th globally, with a manufacturing value added per person of only $216, which is far below that of South Africa and Egypt.
Emmanuel argued that instead of using its oil wealth to promote technology-led industrialization, the nation has become stuck in a resource extraction model. He called for reforms that follow the rules of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and African-wide plans like the AU’s Agenda 2063.
Ms. Laura Ani, a Senior Researcher at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, added her voice to the call for swift and bold reforms. She stated, “Nigeria stands at a crossroads. The oil and gas sector must transition from being a revenue source to becoming an engine of industrial transformation. This requires aligning resource management with coordinated industrial and innovation policies.”
To make this happen, Dr. Aminu Abdullahi Isyaku, from the University of Abuja, proposed a “Triple Helix Model.” This model would create a strong partnership between government, industry, and universities to ensure research and development (R&D) is a core part of the sector’s growth. He said, “R&D is not a luxury but a necessity. To transform our oil and gas sector into a driver of industrialisation, we must embed value-adding processes, deepen local content, and align curricula with industry needs.”
From a business perspective, Mrs. Funmi Ogbue, CEO of Zigma Limited, called for stronger leadership from the private sector. Drawing lessons from the oil sector in Norway, she spoke about the importance of having consistent policies, long-term business agreements, and encouraging exports. “True transformation requires integrated, sustained collaboration between government, industry, and research. Fragmented or politically driven efforts will not deliver the industrialisation Nigeria urgently needs,” she concluded.
Dr. Taiwo Ogunleye, an Associate Professor at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, offered a key insight, saying that the biggest challenge is not a lack of new laws but the failure to fully implement the existing ones. He explained that if sections of the Petroleum Industry Act dealing with local growth, licensing, R&D, and infrastructure were properly followed, they could provide a strong foundation for the nation’s industrial transformation.
The discussion ended with a general agreement to support a strong industrial policy that uses Nigeria’s oil and gas sector as a platform for creating high-tech, value-adding industries. The goal is to make sure these plans are in sync with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), helping Nigeria secure its economic future.
