Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru on Thursday disclosed that Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea will strengthen defence co-operation, including joint patrols to combat oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea.
Speaking to newsmen after President Bola Tinubu’s engagements in Malabo, Badaru confirmed that a joint committee is being constituted to oversee joint patrols, policing, and security on their shared borders and the Gulf of Guinea.
According to him, the collaboration will yield robust engagement and effective prevention of illegal activities in the region.
His words: “There are discussions on defence agreement, not signed yet, but there is a joint committee for joint patrol, policing and security on our borders and the Gulf of Guinea, and that discussion is on
“When constituted, I’m sure we will have robust engagement or patrols on the sea that will prevent all illegalities happening around the Gulf of Guinea”.
Asked if the agreement would address oil theft, the Minister replied, “yes, this is part of it. The security patrol will certainly check illegal movements of crude oil from both countries, which will really help reduce the illegal movement of illegal oil”.
The proposed joint effort aims to curb the scourge of oil theft, a major challenge facing both nations, and other forms of illegal activities in the maritime environment.
Also speaking, Minister of Youth, Jamila Bio-Ibrahim, revealed that Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea are finalizing an agreement aimed at promoting youth development and collaboration between the two countries.
Speaking to reporters in Malabo, Bio-Ibrahim stated that the treaty, to be finalized later this year, will focus on areas such as peer learning, skills development, and transfer.
The agreement will also explore the possibility of Equatorial Guinea adopting Nigeria’s National Youth Service (NYSC) initiative.
She stressed that the treaty will provide opportunities for Nigerian youth to produce commodities for Equatorial Guinea, leveraging the country’s larger population.
Additionally, the agreement will support collaboration in sectors such as furniture production, agro-forestry, fashion, and garment, as well as other cash crops.
Her words: “Well, the purpose of this trip, of coming with Mr. President on this trip to Equatorial Guinea was to explore areas of youth development with our Equatorial Guinean counterparts and we’re in the process of arriving at an agreement on youth development with my counterpart, which we will be finalizing by the Joint Commission, which comes up later this year.
“From Mr. President speech at several of our engagements, several bilateral engagements, he has clearly stated his commitment to collaborating with other African leaders to ensure that we harness the youth demography, the bulge of young people in Africa, towards transformational economic development of the continent and that it’s only when we’re strong as a continent and all the leaders come together that we can harness the potential of our young people across the continent”.
Bio-Ibrahim stressed President Tinubu’s commitment to collaborating with African leaders to harness the continent’s youth demographic for transformational economic development.
“Well, I cannot say, 100% right now, because it is not finalized. So it will be, I will just give you a few of the points that we’ve been mutually agreed upon and well areas of like the National Youth Service called the NYSC, they’re considering collaboration, seeing how we can actually engage in peer learning, to see that for a possibility of actually adopting that initiative and areas of skills development and transfer as well.
“We want to see, even though Equatorial Guinea is not a country as populous as Nigeria, we want to also see how we can support collaborate by producing, channeling some of our youth population to be producing commodities for equatorial Guinea across various sectors and then you are aware that through the presidential initiative on youth enterprise clusters.
“We’re working to ensure that we develop our furniture value chain through agro-forestry, and, of course, the fashion and garment sector as well, and other cash crop sectors as well. And this is a very viable economy for that kind of collaboration”, she said.
Also, the $2.5 billion 200-kilometer Gulf of Guinea Gas Pipeline agreement signed earlier on Thursday between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, is aimed at boosting gas exports between the two countries.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr. Ekperipke Ekpo, who addressed newsmen on details of the project in Malabo, disclosed that the project will increase Nigeria’s upstream gas production, generating significant economic gains for both countries.
According to Ekpo, Equatorial Guinea’s LNG, gas, and methanol plants will utilize Nigeria’s natural gas feedstock, creating a win-win situation.
The project is expected to create substantial employment opportunities in the gas value chain, with construction of the pipeline involving workers from both countries.
He said: “I really appreciate Mr President for finding time to come in and sign this all important treaty about the gas pipeline between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, of course, it will bring about stronger relationship between the two countries.
“What is going on is that Equatorial Guinea has the LNG plant, gas plant, methanol plants, but they don’t have sufficient gas to drive it and Nigeria, as a country, we have the feedstock, that is the natural gas.
“So within this period, after the signing, negotiation will go on to construct a gas pipeline that will be up to 200 kilometers in length between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea for transfer of gas from Nigeria to Equatorial Guinea.
“This will bring about increase in the upstream of gas in Nigeria and it will bring about economic gains between the two countries. We’ll give the feedstock and they’ll process it and either export it and then generating revenue that will be beneficial to the two countries. So it is an important agreement that have been signed and I appreciate that.
“It is a function of time, but all I know is that the project will take about $2.5 billion on the case of the pipeline. So whatsoever will come out of it will be after the agreement has been done and depending on the market price, that is when we will actually know what will come to our country, Nigeria, but I know for sure that it’s going to be beneficial for the two countries”.
On production capacity, Ekpo stated that Equatorial Guinea’s LNG plant will require four million metric tons of gas per year, while the gas and methanol plants will need one billion cubic feet of gas per day each.
According to him: “It will be good for Nigeria because even in the gas value chain; the construction of the pipelines will employ people from both Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea to take part in it. So it will create a great employment.
“In terms of the LNG, I have been informed that they will need about 4 million metric tons of gas per year. The gas plant will need about 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day, then the methanol plant will need about 1 billion cubic feet per day. So this is a good business for Nigeria”.
The project, he further said, is poised to become a significant economic driver for Nigeria, with revenue generation dependent on market prices.
Deji Elumoye
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