Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has pledged that Nigeria would honour the host country agreement for the $5billion African Energy Bank.
The African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) asked the federal government of Nigeria to honour the host countries’ agreement with the bank.
Nigeria won the hosting right for the $5billion Bank in early July this year.
Speaking, while paying host to the APPO delegation in Abuja, he said Nigeria is committed to honouring the host countries’ agreement.
Lokpobri said Nigeria is also working tirelessly to beat the September ending deadline for the bank opening.
He said the country is working assiduously to fulfill all the issues the secretary general raised.
He promised to secure an appointment for the APPO boss to meet with President Bola Tinubu.
Earlier, the AEB, Secretary General, Umar Farouk Ibrahim, who led the delegation urged the minister to also prepare the headquarters for the September end take-off.
He said: “There are two issues: one host country agreement. The second is the headquarters, preparing it.”
He urged Nigeria to work hard to prove critics who were opposed to its hosting the headquarters wrong.
He asked Nigeria to fulfill all the promises it made while seeking to host the bank’s headquarters.
He revealed that other countries have started asking him when the bank is moving to the headquarters office in Nigeria.
His words: “I want to appeal to you and to the government to do everything you can to conform to what you have promised APPO, promised that informed the decision to give Nigeria the hosting right.
“Everybody is looking up to Nigeria, Ministers of other countries are asking me when are you moving, when are we starting?
As I am here today, I want to appeal to you to help to keep the Nigeria name.”
