The Nigerian government has called for collaboration with other world leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) for the completion of the ongoing African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AGP).
The country’s Vice President Kashim Shettima made this appeal on Thursday during a bilateral meeting with the President of WEF, Børge Brende, on the sidelines of the ongoing annual meeting.
Shettima argued that that the completion of the pipeline will address the geopolitical challenges in Europe and the rising demand for energy globally.
The AGP project aims to develop a 6,800 km gas pipeline network, with 5,100 km offshore, extending from Nigeria to Morocco. The pipeline will traverse all ECOWAS coastal countries along the Atlantic Ocean, as well as Mauritania and the three landlocked nations—Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
“We seek your collaboration in fundamental areas. One is on the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP), which will connect Nigeria to Morocco and other African countries. The pipeline will transport natural gas from Nigeria to North Africa and Europe and is expected to improve energy security and economic growth in the region.
“With the geopolitical challenges in Europe from Russian gas problems and the rising demand for energy because of artificial intelligence, data mining, and storage, we will be in a vantage position to take advantage of this opportunity,” the vice president said.
Shettima also mentioned that recharging Lake Chad would address food security challenges while strengthening Nigeria’s efforts to combat terrorism and develop renewable energy.
He noted that the Sahel region where the lake is located, along with its economy and ecosystem, is facing significant challenges.
“The Lake Chad hitherto was 25,000 sq. km., but it has shrunk to 2,000 sq. km. There is the issue of the recharging of Lake Chad from the Congo River basin, which is the second largest river basin in the world, and the water is flowing into the Atlantic. We want to use your platform to recharge the Lake Chad.
“This will help us to successfully generate clean energy, a significant amount of hydropower annually, and there will be a canal of 2400 kilometers that will change the agricultural landscape of that sub-region. This will address the food security crisis that the world is facing” Shettima added.
The Vice President also informed the WEF President about the ongoing reforms being undertaken by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the Nigerian President has returned Nigeria to the path of sustained economic growth.
He said the need of promoting cooperation with WEF for Africa’s development, pointing out that Nigeria is the continent’s most populous country with 250 million people, in addition to having the largest economy.
