Biography
Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo is Nigeria’s Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Gas), a post he has held since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed him in August 2023. He oversees the gas portfolio of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in a country that holds Africa’s largest proven natural gas reserves. He is also President of the 2026 Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), a position Nigeria secured at the forum’s 27th Ministerial Meeting in Doha, Qatar, in October 2025.
Ekpo studied at the University of Calabar, earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology (Ecology) in 1989, followed by a master’s degree and, in 2025, a PhD in Environmental Pollution and Toxicology. He spent eleven years teaching at Queen of Apostles Seminary, Afaha Obong, where he became Head of Science and Dean of Studies. He moved into public service in 2003 as Caretaker Chairman of Ika Local Government Council in Akwa Ibom State and was elected Head of Council in 2004. During his tenure, an abandoned federal electrification project was completed, connecting Ika to the national grid for the first time.
From 2007 to 2011 he represented the Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, serving as Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Industry and as a member of committees on customs, national security and intelligence, power and Niger Delta affairs. In May 2024, President Tinubu named him Co-Chairman of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to strengthen oversight of the gas aspect of the nation’s assets.
Ekpo’s ministerial work centres on the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas agenda: expanding domestic gas use for power, industry, fertiliser production, transport and clean cooking, supporting infrastructure such as the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline, and advancing regional projects including the West African Gas Pipeline, whose Committee of Ministers he chairs. He has argued that African producers should balance gas exports with domestic utilisation so that gas becomes a driver of industrialisation and structural transformation.
Career Highlights
- Appointed Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Gas) by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in August 2023
- President of the 2026 Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF)
- Named Co-Chairman of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board in May 2024
- Member of the House of Representatives for Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency (2007–2011)
- PhD in Environmental Pollution and Toxicology from the University of Calabar (2025)
On the AETC Stage
“Natural gas is not just a commodity, it is a catalyst. To unleash the true potential of Africa's gas, we must foster intra-African gas trade, trading among ourselves, building markets with our regions, and connecting infrastructure across borders. Africa must move with urgency to build a continental gas ecosystem. Africa's future energy security cannot depend solely on the export of raw resources. When we share energy, we share prosperity. Let us build a future where African gas powers African goods.”
