Nigeria Hands Over Africa Energy Bank Headquarters To APPO And Afreximbank

Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer and host of the new continental energy bank, has formally handed over the fully furnished headquarters of the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) to the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) and Afreximbank.

The ceremony, held Monday in Abuja, marks a major step toward unlocking sustainable financing for oil and gas projects across the continent.

The event was led by Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, alongside APPO President and Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy, Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly, senior APPO officials, and representatives of Afreximbank.

The AEB headquarters is located on the third floor of the newly built Afreximbank African Trade Centre in Abuja’s Central Area.

Lokpobiri said the handover fulfilled Nigeria’s obligations as host country and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring the bank becomes operational by June 2026.

“Nigeria has met all our commitments. The last was delivering this headquarters, which is fully furnished and paid for,” he said.

He explained that after reviewing multiple options, the government settled on a facility he described as “fit-for-purpose”.

The minister added that earlier delays affecting the bank’s launch had been resolved, emphasizing AEB’s strategic importance in addressing Africa’s energy financing gap.

“Africa’s biggest challenge is finance. The Global North is using finance as a weapon against the developing South, telling us to halt the exploitation of our resources,” he said.

He noted that global attitudes toward fossil fuels are shifting, citing the International Energy Agency’s recent acknowledgement that the world will require up to $700 billion in fossil fuel investment annually for the next 25 years.

Lokpobiri stressed that fossil fuels would remain central to Africa’s energy mix for decades and that the bank was created to support the continent’s 18 member countries through exploration, production, and infrastructure development.

He outlined next steps, including shareholder meetings, board and management appointments, and staff recruitment.

APPO President Sangafowa-Coulibaly commended Nigeria’s leadership and described the handover as a “critical milestone”, reaffirming APPO’s commitment to launch the bank “no later than June this year”.

APPO Secretary-General Farid Ghezali said the bank would play a vital role in mobilising capital for resource development, praising Afreximbank’s partnership as key to the institution’s credibility.

The Africa Energy Bank—an APPO–Afreximbank initiative—is expected to finance upstream, midstream and downstream projects, strengthen energy security, and help African nations monetise hydrocarbon resources responsibly.

Nigeria was selected as host after a competitive bidding process and pledged to provide the headquarters and other support commitments.