Abuja, Nigeria (July 29, 2026)
Nigeria has been urged to close major transparency gaps in how it collects, manages, and accounts for methane-abatement financing, in order to make its methane reduction efforts more credible and effective. The call was made by participants at a one-day Stakeholder Engagement and Validation Workshop on Methane-Abatement Financing in Nigeria, held on Wednesday, 29th July, at Johnwood Hotel, Abuja.
The event, hosted by Policy Alert and the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), brought together regulators, fiscal institutions, legislators, civil society organizations, host community representatives, development partners, and the media to validate the findings of an NRGI-commissioned study on methane-abatement financing in Nigeria and build consensus on practical reforms.
In her closing statement released after the event, Tengi George-Ikoli, NRGI Nigeria Country Manager noted that the workshop was a success, as it not only exposed significant weaknesses in Nigeria’s methane-financing architecture but also generated a set of validated recommendations to strengthen financial transparency, institutional coordination, and Nigeria’s engagement with international climate finance.
An NRGI Consultant, presenting the study’s findings, outlined key weaknesses in Nigeria’s methane-finance framework, including a regulatory imbalance that punishes gas flaring far more strictly than venting or fugitive leaks, a penalty structure that fails to discourage emissions across all sources, and a lack of public disclosure around funds such as the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) and international climate finance received by the country.
The event featured a moderated panel session on penalty design and monitoring, fund transparency, and community oversight, followed by an open plenary dialogue in which regulators, host community representatives, civil society, and the media shared reactions and recommendations. Participants stressed that host communities, who bear the direct environmental cost of flaring, venting, and leaks, must be given a formal role in monitoring how methane-related funds are collected and spent.
Discussions also centered on the need for Nigeria to integrate methane financing into existing transparency frameworks such as NEITI and EITI, strengthen coordination among regulatory agencies including the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), and align with international standards such as the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0 to improve both governance and access to climate finance.
The workshop concluded with the reading and adoption of a Communiqué setting out validated recommendations across three priority areas: improving financial transparency in reporting, strengthening institutional coordination and capacity, and leveraging international climate finance and global best practice. Participants committed to track progress on these recommendations going forward.
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For more information, contact:
Lucy Eyo,
Phone: 0816064026
Email: [email protected]
