The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has revealed that over 120 million Nigerians are experiencing energy scarcity despite the huge natural gas resources in the country.

Sylva disclosed this on Monday at the pre-summit conference of the 2021 Nigeria International Petroleum Summit, tagged ‘The Decade of Gas,’ in Abuja.

He said,

“Nigeria’s gas reserves, with proven 203 trillion cubic feet and potential 600 Tcf, are the most extensive in Africa and in the top 10 globally.

“However, in the area of domestic utilization of gas to power the economy, there is a chronic shortage. This is a narrative we intend to change over the next decade.”

According to the minister, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), revolves around the utilization of natural gas.

He said,

“It is no longer acceptable that despite the country’s vast natural gas resources, the gap between electricity supply and demand is huge; access unreliable, and cost expensive.

“We must deal with energy poverty in this country. We must find a way to unlock the natural gas potential of this great nation, and drag over 120 million of our people out of energy poverty.”

He said at the end of the summit, a robust road map would be presented to the President in a bid to “continue in our determined pursuit of transforming Nigeria into a gas-based industrial nation”.