Congo Brazzaville, July 2024 – The African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) has appealed to members to fulfil their financial obligation to enable its Africa Energy Bank (AEB) take-off.
APPO plans to establish an energy bank with the headquarters in Nigeria and needs $ 5billion to facilitate its take-off.
Last week, Nigeria secured the hosting rights for the bank, which will be located in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Dr. Umar Farouk Ibrahim, APPO Secretary General, made appeal to member-countries to pay up their subscription fees of $83 million each to facilitate the launch of the bank in September 2024.
Ibrahim made this appeal on Tuesday during the 18th Ordinary Meeting of the APPO Executive Board in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, where APPO’s headquarters is located.
Amb. Nicholas Ella, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, led the Nigerian delegation at the executive board meeting in Brazzaville.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ibrahim reaffirmed the resolution of the council of APPO to confer the hosting rights of the Africa Energy Bank on Nigeria.
“We are aligned with the resolutions of the APPO council of ministers from last week. We will double our efforts to ensure we gather the necessary funds to initiate the Africa Energy Bank.
“On Friday, July 5, we formally wrote to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We will discuss how quickly the bank building will be ready and the host country agreement prepared for signature. We already have one member country that has signed the establishment agreement; we need one more signature to proceed.
“The gathering of the 18-member countries of APPO in Brazzaville demonstrates our collective dedication to fostering unity, cooperation, and sustainable development within the African energy sector,” noted Amb. Ella.
“Together, we will create an institution that addresses the financial needs of our energy projects and champions sustainable development, environmental stewardship, and economic inclusivity across Africa,” the statement said. (GBN)
