The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has stated that electricity grids should receive the same strategic attention traditionally accorded to fuel supplies in global energy security planning.

According to a statement by his media aide, Adeola Labzy, Tegbe made the call on Tuesday while delivering a keynote address at the opening plenary of the Middle East Energy 2026 Leadership Summit in Dubai.

Speaking on the theme, ‘Energy Security and the Effect of Geopolitics’, at the 50th edition of the summit, the minister said the changing global energy landscape had made resilient electricity infrastructure critical to national and international security.

He argued that energy security could no longer be measured by the availability of hydrocarbon reserves alone, but should encompass the resilience of the entire energy system, including critical mineral supply chains, grid infrastructure, capital and institutions.

According to him, the ability of countries to keep electricity flowing to homes, hospitals and industries during periods of geopolitical and economic stress should be regarded as a strategic priority.

He said Nigeria’s power sector reforms were aimed at creating the certainty required to attract investment, citing regulatory certainty, contract sanctity and bankable offtake arrangements as essential to the success of the reforms.

“The minister set out four propositions for the summit’s delegates: that diversification, not diplomatic disengagement, is the surest form of strategic insurance; that grids now deserve the same strategic seriousness historically reserved for fuel supply; that affordability is itself a security issue; and that the global energy transition must be orderly, just and responsive to the circumstances of individual nations,” the statement read partly.

He also identified affordability as a security issue and called for an orderly and just global energy transition that takes into account the circumstances of individual countries.

Tegbe pointed to Nigeria’s more than 200 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves and its two-decade record of reliable LNG supply to Europe and Asia, positioning the country as an important player in the global energy security conversation.

He called for partnerships that would go beyond the extraction of raw resources to encompass local processing, manufacturing, skills transfer and patient capital. “Africa is not at the margins of energy geopolitics; it is the fulcrum,” he said.

In his closing remarks, Tegbe invited global investors and partners to participate in building Africa’s energy infrastructure. “Nigeria has chosen to build. Africa has chosen to build. And we invite you, in the spirit of this remarkable city and this landmark fiftieth summit, to build with us,” he said.

The minister is expected to participate in further engagements in Dubai during the week, including a ministerial fireside session on financing Africa’s power future under the summit’s Africa Spotlight programme.