Nigeria likely to lose to Ghana in race to host Africa Energy Bank

By Eniola Akinkuotu

Having conceded the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization, APPO headquarters to the Republic of Congo and losing the bid for the AfCFTA secretariat to Ghana, Africa’s largest oil producer; Nigeria fails to secure hosting multilateral institution.

While some of Nigeria’s policymakers are still confident that the country will become the host of the continent’s latest multilateral institution, Africa Energy Bank, Ghana has emerged as the favourite, having met most of the criteria set by the committee in charge of taking the decision, say insiders.

“We’ve made concessions to other countries before,” says Heineken Lokpobiri, Nigeria’s minister of state for Petroleum Resources (Oil). “African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) headquarters would have been in Nigeria but former president Muhammadu Buhari conceded to the Republic of Congo. Other countries will pay us back by saying that Nigeria has conceded so let them concede to us this time around.”

The Africa Energy Bank will boost the host country’s economy. (REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko).