… urges Nigeria to reinforce regional energy hub role
“If the Ghana cedi is doing well and the Nigerian naira is underperforming, it will not bring the needed economic gain to our people” – Tameklo
Oredola Adeola
Godwin Kudzo Tameklo, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has disclosed that Nigeria continues to hold a strategic position as a regional energy hub.
He therefore noted that a reasonable reliance on Nigeria’s refined petroleum products, particularly from Dangote Refinery, will help reduce the cost of fuel reaching Ghana.
He made this known during a panel session on Wednesday at the 2026 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES), while speaking on the topic, “Driving Domestic Value: Transforming Downstream Market & Refining.”
According to him once we (Nigeria and Ghana) create a uniform regulatory architecture, we strongly believe that we can project the sub-region better.
He said, “In Ghana, what we have been trying to do as a country is that we have two major refineries and what you call a modular refinery of roughly 5,000–6,000 barrels, which is quite small.
“And so, once you mention 6,000 barrels in the context of Nigeria, in Ghana that is considered a bigger refinery.
“We have always relied on imports, both in terms of crude oil and refined products. I want you to believe that Ghana happens to be a great offtake for the Dangote Refinery.
“And we have been having all kinds of engagements with Alhaji Aliko Dangote to position Ghana firmly to take refined products from Nigeria,” he stated.
The NPA boss further noted that Ghana relies on refined products from Dangote and added that, given the proximity between Ghana and Nigeria, a reasonable dependence on Nigeria’s refined petroleum products will help reduce the cost of fuel reaching Ghana.
He said, “As a result, we are doing everything to build that relationship. But to do this, you also need uniform regulation and uniform economic performance.
“If the Ghana cedi is doing well and the Nigerian naira is underperforming, it will not bring the needed economic gain to our people.”
Tameklo further revealed that the NPA, as a regulator, is focused on ensuring that Ghana secures cheaper, affordable, and quality products for its people.
“And that is why we believe that a relationship with refineries like the Dangote Refinery, which have promised quality products for us, will ensure that we are not only adding value but also delivering affordable, cheaper, and quality products,” he said.
He emphasised that Nigeria can always rely on Ghana in terms of the partnership and in providing the needed market.
“I do not think it will be much of an argument to say that Nigeria has firmly positioned itself as the energy hub of Africa.
“And that position, I believe, Nigeria should not turn away from, but rather firm up issues of regulation so that the partnership can be one of cooperation and mutual benefit to both Ghana and Nigeria.”
He noted that for the oil marketing companies in Ghana, the NPA does not want them to engage in regulatory pricing, as this has a tendency to wipe out key players within the downstream sector.
“So, what we do in Ghana is that we have a floor price below which you cannot sell, and the idea is to help position the industry and provide the needed regulatory support.”
He explained that allowing companies to sell below the right price as a market penetration strategy can harm the industry:
“Because once you allow people to sell below the right price as a strategy to penetrate the market, it means they will continue selling at low prices and that will wipe out competitors in the industry.”
Tameklo emphasized that these experiences offer valuable lessons for regional cooperation:
“And so, I strongly believe that these are experiences that we can always share.
“Because our experience in 2015 was that before the government was providing subsidy and we were not able to pay the subsidy on petrol on time, we had a situation where they were killing our fuel stations.
“To avoid that, we fully deregulated pricing to allow market forces to operate, and it has provided a robust, resilient downstream sector over the period,” the NPA boss said.
