KEY POINTS
- Sahara Group MD Kola Adesina will headline Nigeria’s 2026 Oriental News National Conference on decarbonization.
- Nigeria’s National Decarbonisation Bill and upstream emissions blueprint are both advancing simultaneously in 2026.
- The summit targets the financing gap blocking large-scale emissions reduction in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Nigeria’s energy transition debate has a new focal point. Kola Adesina, managing director of Sahara Group and board chairman of Ikeja Electric, will lead high-level conversations on decarbonizing the country’s extractive industry at the 2026 Oriental News National Conference in Lagos.
The summit theme is “Carbon Capture: Accelerating Decarbonisation Initiatives in Nigeria’s Extractive Industry Through Broad Regulatory Reforms.” It lands at a critical moment. The federal government is pushing hard on its net-zero target for 2060. Two major policy instruments are already moving. The proposed National Decarbonisation Bill sits before the National Assembly. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has rolled out a Decarbonisation Blueprint and Handbook for upstream operators, setting tighter expectations on emissions management.
What Adesina brings to the table
Adesina will speak directly to the economics of transition. The costs and trade-offs facing private sector operators as they shift toward lower-emission operations are real and rarely discussed at policy level. Sahara Group has built its own energy transition roadmap around a cleaner fuel mix, operational efficiency and nature-based solutions. That experience gives Adesina standing in a conversation that too often stays theoretical.
A sub-theme of the conference targets the financing gap. Investment strategies, operational sustainability and climate change management are all on the agenda. These are not abstract concerns. Cutting emissions at scale in oil and gas requires capital that government budgets cannot supply alone.
A broader conversation taking shape
Government officials, regulators, bankers, oil and gas operators and manufacturers will deliberate on Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan. Gas flaring reduction, renewable energy expansion and cleaner industrial processes are all on the table. Emerging technologies will also feature: carbon capture, utilization and storage, low-carbon hydrogen and digital energy systems.
The summit is now in its fifth year. Yemisi Izuora, convener and publisher of Oriental News Nigeria, said the conference bridges the gap between policy design and industry execution.
“Every year, Oriental News Nigeria creates a platform for critical stakeholders in the energy, finance, and industrial sectors to discuss regulatory issues and investment opportunities,” she said. “Our goal is to support both private and public sector initiatives that drive economic growth and sustainable development.”
Nigeria’s extractive sector drives the bulk of its greenhouse gas emissions. Regulatory pressure is rising. Capital is scarce. The summit will try to answer whether both problems can be solved at the same time.
