The Federal Government has affirmed its readiness to provide additional funding to the Africa Energy Bank to ensure its launch, following delays by some African countries in meeting their capital subscription commitments.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, made the disclosure on Tuesday at the 2026 Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference in Lagos.

He noted that, although Nigeria has already contributed 70 per cent of the bank’s capital, the country is prepared to cover any remaining funding shortfall if other African nations fail to meet their obligations.

“Africa’s problem, largely, is access to capital. That’s why the African Petroleum Producers Organisation came up with the idea of an African energy bank,” Lokpobiri said.

He stated that Nigeria had gained the confidence of other African nations to host the bank’s headquarters and had met all its obligations as the host country. The headquarters was officially handed over to the African Petroleum Producers Organisation and Afrexim Bank in Abuja last week.

“We’ve handed the headquarters over to them, and we have given them a timeline within which the bank has to be launched. Nigeria, as the host country, has obligations, and we have met all obligations,” he said.

In 2024, President Bola Tinubu approved a $100 million investment for a Class A share in the bank, positioning Nigeria to host the $5 billion Africa Energy Bank, a multilateral institution set to finance energy projects across the continent.

Lokpobiri further said that, during a meeting with African counterparts in Abuja on Monday, Nigeria offered to fund the remaining portion of the bank’s minimum capital if delays by other countries persisted

“When my colleagues in Africa came to Abuja, and we had a meeting on Monday, I told them that if they are going to delay raising the balance of the minimum capital needed, Nigeria will raise it so the bank can take off, and they were very excited,” he said.

The minister added that, it is not unusual for a few countries to bear the initial funding burden for continental financial institutions.

“When Afrexim Bank started, not all countries raised their capital at the same time. A few countries had to raise the capital, and the bank started. Today, the bank is huge,” he noted.

Lokpobiri emphasised that the Africa Energy Bank must begin operations without further delay to bolster oil and gas financing across Africa.

“This specialised bank needs to take off without any further delay so that we will be able to raise the funding needed. If we have to solve Africa’s energy problem, the solution is raising capital to finance Africa’s oil and gas projects,” he stated.

The minister further stressed that countries in the global North were using financial leverage to hinder Africa’s energy goals, noting the need for the continent to develop its own solutions.