The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar received a high-level delegation from the Nigerian Institute of Petroleum and Gas Engineers (NIPGE) led by the President, Engr. Prisca Kanebi on Friday 28th November, 2025 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abuja, for a strategic engagement on strengthening collaboration between government and the oil and gas engineering community.
During her presentation, the President of NIPGE, highlighted the institute’s mandate to reorganize, regulate, and enhance professional standards among petroleum and gas engineers in Nigeria. The President emphasized the urgent need to bridge the gap between academia and industry, improve technical capacity, mentor young engineers, promote competence, and safeguard Nigeria’s long-term energy future.
She also outlined NIPGE’s commitment to supporting government efforts through research, advisory services, capacity development, and partnership on critical national issues including energy transition, environmental protection, Niger Delta stability, and industry governance.
In his remarks, the Honourable Minister commended NIPGE for its proactive engagement and reaffirmed the Ministry’s readiness to collaborate on multiple fronts. He highlighted opportunities in the Technical Aid Corps Programme for deployment of Nigerian petroleum engineers to countries seeking energy-sector expertise, such as Guyana and Namibia.
The Minister further underscored Nigeria’s strategic involvement in major regional energy projects—including the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, and the West African Gas Pipeline—and stressed the importance of Nigerian engineers taking the lead in shaping the continent’s gas future. He emphasized that the evolving geopolitics of energy transition makes domestic capacity development and industrial self-reliance more critical than ever.
The discussions concluded with a shared commitment to deepen cooperation in professional certification, research linkages, energy diplomacy, and workforce development to support Nigeria’s economic and strategic interests globally.
Signed
Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa
Spokesperson,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja.
