By Ali Elias
Summit Overview
Nigeria’s energy sector is being repositioned as a continental growth engine under the African Continental Free Trade Area, with policymakers urging industry players to shift from a domestic outlook to a regional market strategy.
This formed the central message at the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Nigerian Local Content AfCFTA Energy Summit held Monday in Lagos, where the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office outlined how the trade pact is reshaping opportunities across power, oil and gas, manufacturing, and energy services.
Delivering the presentation on behalf of Acting National Coordinator Patience Okala, Joseph Ifeanyi Nwokedi described AfCFTA as a market-shaping framework that fundamentally alters how scale, competitiveness, and value chains are built across Africa.
With a market of 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP exceeding $3.4 trillion, the agreement is expected to boost Africa’s income by $450 billion by 2035 while significantly expanding intra-African trade.
Energy Moves from Infrastructure to Trade Asset
A core argument of the presentation was that energy can no longer be viewed solely as domestic infrastructure. Under AfCFTA, it becomes tradable, investable, and export-enabling.
Reliable power supply was positioned as foundational to Nigeria’s export competitiveness across African markets. Energy was described as both an enabler of trade and a strategic sector capable of generating cross-border value.
Recent domestic reforms are expected to reinforce this transition. The Electricity Act 2023 removed the requirement for power generated above 1MW to be routed through the national grid, opening space for embedded and captive power solutions targeting industrial clusters and export processing zones.
This regulatory shift creates opportunities for independent power producers, gas-to-power operators, and renewable energy providers to directly support export-oriented manufacturing.
Services Export Opportunity Emerges
Beyond physical energy supply, Nigeria’s technical expertise is positioned as an export commodity under AfCFTA’s services liberalisation framework.
Energy-related services — including engineering, geophysical consulting, grid management, project development, and renewable technology deployment — can be supplied across borders where market access commitments exist.
However, mobility of skilled professionals will depend on regulatory harmonisation and Mutual Recognition Agreements, which allow professional certifications obtained in Nigeria to be recognised in other African markets.
The framework also links energy services to emerging industrial value chains such as lithium mining and battery manufacturing, sectors expected to expand with Africa’s energy transition.
Preferential Trade in Energy Commodities
AfCFTA also introduces preferential tariff treatment for energy goods, including electricity, refined petroleum products, gas derivatives, and renewable components, provided rules of origin requirements are met.
Electricity generated in Nigeria qualifies as a wholly obtained product, positioning the country for cross-border power trade where regional transmission frameworks exist.
For hydrocarbons, value addition through refining becomes critical to securing preferential market access — a policy signal encouraging domestic processing capacity.
Gas, in particular, was highlighted as a strategic transition fuel capable of supporting industrialisation across West and Central Africa while strengthening Nigeria’s regional energy influence.
Manufacturing and Regional Supply Chains
The scale of the AfCFTA market is expected to incentivise localisation of energy-related manufacturing, including cables, transformers, meters, solar panels, and processing equipment.
Regional cumulation provisions allow Nigerian manufacturers to source inputs across Africa while retaining preferential access, making continental-scale production viable.
Early entrants are expected to shape emerging supply chains and standards, while late movers risk marginalisation in an integrating market.
Government Coordination Framework
Nigeria’s implementation strategy is anchored in a whole-of-government approach coordinated by the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, which serves as secretariat to the Central Coordination Committee chaired by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
Key milestones highlighted include gazetting of tariff concessions, submission of services commitments, launch of an air cargo export corridor to East and Southern Africa, and Nigeria’s role as co-champion of the AfCFTA digital trade protocol.
The Coordination Office also functions as an escalation channel for regulatory bottlenecks encountered by businesses operating under the agreement.
Strategic Shift Required
The presentation concluded with a strategic call to action: Nigerian energy companies must reposition from national operators to regional competitors.
This requires structuring operations around rules of origin, forming cross-border partnerships, aligning with continental standards, and integrating power solutions into export readiness architecture.
AfCFTA should be viewed through the same lens as Nigeria’s telecommunications and banking liberalisation — sectors transformed by early movers who recognised scale and timing.
As Nigeria prepares to host major AfCFTA events and deepen implementation, the summit’s message was clear: the framework is no longer prospective policy — it is an operational market, and leadership will belong to those who move first.