Cyril Hart, a member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives from Rivers State, has said that Africa lacks the financial resources needed to fully harness its natural wealth.
Speaking at the 2025 Africa Energy Week (AEW) in Cape Town, Hart stressed that addressing energy poverty across the continent requires foreign investment and urgent financial commitments.
“We are here to discuss the way forward in addressing the issue of energy poverty, particularly in Africa. For me, my expectation is on funding. Funding, funding, everything funding,” he told News Central TV.
Hart noted that while Africa is richly endowed with oil and gas reserves, the continent does not have the means to exploit them. “Because when you say drill, baby, drill, baby, drill, it costs money to drill. And let us be very frank, Africa does not have the funds to bring out its natural resources from the ground. So it means we must attract FDIs. We must close up deals. This money is not coming from Africa. We don’t have the money.”
Citing Nigeria as an example, he said the country holds “about 203 trillion cubic feet of gas, proven reserves” and “about 38 billion barrels of crude, proven reserves.” However, at Nigeria’s current production rate of 1.7 million barrels per day, “it’s going to take Nigeria about 78 years to deplete that reserve. And I think the world is not waiting for us. We’re here because we want to pick foreign funds to make sure we bring out this God-given wealth from the ground.”
Hart emphasised that oil revenues are critical for funding Africa’s transition to renewables. “You see, we need money from oil to divest from oil. We need oil money to go to embrace renewables. And we must take it from what God has given to us. So we’re going to drill. But the question still remains, where do we get the funds to drill? What incentives are you giving?”
He also acknowledged regional competition for investment: “We all, yes, we’re all Africans, but I would want them to come to Nigeria. The Ghanaians want them to come to Ghana, isn’t it? So the competition exists whether you like it or not.”
The lawmaker highlighted Nigeria’s recent efforts to attract investors, pointing to reforms in the oil and gas sector.
“We just finished one in Nigeria, assented by the president to kickstart 1st January 2026, the tax reform bills. We are giving some incentives in the oil and gas sector, particularly green fuel for gas. For investors to come, the incentives are there. Just embrace Nigeria. Come drill. Come drill. Drill, drill, drill. Big drill.”
