Stakeholders Urge Stronger Legislative Oversight In Nigeria’s Investment Treaty Reform
By Gift Eguavoen
Stakeholders have called for stronger legislative oversight and public participation in Nigeria’s treaty negotiation and review processes, as part of a broader reform agenda to protect the country’s regulatory autonomy from Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) exposure, and safeguard its energy transition efforts.
The call was made in Port Harcourt, at a two-day Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable on ISDS, Energy Transition and Investment Governance in Nigeria, organised by Policy Alert in partnership with Actionaid Nigeria and Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN), with support from the Center for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO).
The event brought together policymakers, regulators, civil society organisations, host community representatives, and the media to interrogate Nigeria’s investment treaty architecture in the context of energy sector.
Nigeria has been engaged in investment treaty reform for several years, including the review of older-generation Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and the development of a new approach to balancing investor protection with the government’s right to regulate in the public interest. Participants at the dialogue noted that the ongoing reform provides an opportunity to strengthen transparency and ensure that investment agreements receive appropriate legislative and public scrutiny, particularly given their long-term implications for environmental regulation, energy transition, and the country’s right to pursue its development priorities.
Speaking during the opening of the Dialogue, Executive Director of Policy Alert, Tijah Bolton-Akpan, pointed out that Nigeria’s energy transition depends not only on policy commitments and technology deployment, but also on whether its investment treaty obligations enable or constrain the government’s ability to regulate in the public interest.
“As Nigeria navigates the tension between continued reliance on fossil fuel revenues and its energy transition commitments, it is timely to examine ISDS not simply as a legal issue, but as one with significant implications for energy governance, public finances and climate justice,” Bolton-Apkan said
Participants called for the National Assembly to have a more meaningful role in the consideration and ratification of investment treaties and agreements, arguing that legislative scrutiny should form part of the ongoing reform process rather than be treated as a separate issue.
The dialogue also highlighted concerns arising from developments in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, including asset divestments, new offshore investments, and the expansion of gas infrastructure in line with the Decade of Gas Initiative 2021-2030. Participants called for greater attention to the potential investment and ISDS implications of these developments, as well as to environmental liabilities that may remain when companies exit oil and gas assets.
Stakeholders recommended that the Federal Government strengthen legislative and public participation in investment treaty-making and reform, renegotiate or replace older-generation BITs and ensure that future agreements clearly protect the government’s right to regulate in the public interest.
The Dialogue also recommended the assessment of the potential ISDS implications of major energy and investment policies, including expanded gas infrastructure and strengthening accountability for environmental liabilities arising from oil and gas divestments.
Furthermore, participants called on the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to strengthen mechanisms for ensuring that companies exiting oil and gas assets remain accountable for legacy environmental liabilities.
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