ECOWAS, the EU and GIZ opened a two-day Abuja workshop Tuesday for the Regional Energy Governance and Information System in West Africa, a project to tighten energy data and boost cross-border clean energy integration.
The meeting, held September 29 to 30, 2026, brought together senior representatives from ECOWAS member state energy ministries alongside three regional institutions: the West African Power Pool, the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, and the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority.
Their task was to set the strategic and operational roadmap for the initiative, which sits under the ECOWAS Directorate of Energy and Mines.
ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalization Amin Amidu Sulemani, delivering the keynote address virtually, tied the project to the revised ECOWAS treaty and to regional and global development frameworks.
He said REGIS-WA arrives at an opportune moment, contributing to the objectives of the updated Regional Energy Policy through national action plans drawn up by member states, and to the consolidation of the ECOWAS Energy Information System as a tool for energy statistics and decision-making.
“ECOWAS ambition for the energy sector cannot be achieved without strong, transparent and data-driven energy governance,” Sulemani said.
Céline Hoste, Team Leader for Regional Cooperation, represented the Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS.
She described the EU’s commitment to stronger institutions, better governance and more reliable data as the foundation for a functioning, integrated and climate-friendly regional electricity market, and said the initiative is focused on translating regional policies into domestic action while strengthening the ECOWAS Energy Information System.
“A successful regional market also depends on sound governance, effective regulation, credible planning, and dependable energy statistics,” Hoste said.
Dr. Karin Jansen, Head of Development Corporation at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to Nigeria, delivered a goodwill message on behalf of the German Federal Government.
She reaffirmed Germany’s technical and financial commitment to sustainable energy development in the region and credited ECOWAS and its specialised energy institutions with advancing regional energy cooperation.
According to Jansen, REGIS-WA will strengthen the regional energy information system, support monitoring of regional energy policies and action plans, and foster strategic dialogue with the African Union.
The workshop is expected to build a shared vision among the partners, validate the operational roadmap and key implementation milestones, and establish mechanisms for stakeholder ownership, coordination and synergy.
The project is funded by the EU under the NDICI initiative with a total budget of 3,000,000 million Euros, and is implemented by GIZ through its Promotion of a Climate-Friendly Electricity Market in the ECOWAS Region (ProCEM II) programme.
It has two components: support for implementing and monitoring the regional energy policy, including transposition of regional directives and the regional energy action plan in member states; and support for developing ECOWAS’s energy statistical system by improving member states’ capacity to collect and produce statistical energy data.
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