Policy Alert seeks Nigeria hearing over $50 bn offshore plan

Policy Alert urged Nigeria’s lawmakers to review investment-treaty exposure, a Premium Times news report published Oct. 22 said, citing August 2026 offshore incentives projected at up to $50 billion.

The group said the August 2026 offshore framework should be assessed against revenue forgone, public benefits and legal exposure, including two Shell-related treaty cases started in 2007 and 2021.

Policy Alert issued the request in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, while launching its report, Investment Protection and Nigeria's Energy Transition: Implications for Environmental Accountability and Regulatory Space.

The civil society organisation asked relevant Senate and House of Representatives committees to hold a joint hearing on Nigeria’s investment treaty framework, a federal treaty-review committee established in November 2024 and recent fiscal incentives for offshore petroleum investment.

Investor-state dispute settlement, or ISDS, allows qualifying foreign investors to bring claims against host governments before international arbitration tribunals over alleged breaches of investment protections. Policy Alert identified three concerns: future policy changes may become more expensive, fiscal incentives and gas projects may lack sufficient evidence of long-term public benefit, and foreign investors may have stronger international remedies than affected communities.

The report comes as Nigeria seeks new capital for offshore petroleum production and wider gas infrastructure under its Decade of Gas initiative. Policy Alert raised questions about projects including Bonga North, Bonga South West/Aparo and Ima Gas, and said projected investment should not alone be treated as proof of economic value for Nigeria.

Policy Alert cited two arbitration proceedings involving Shell-related entities and Nigeria, started in 2007 and 2021 under the Nigeria-Netherlands bilateral investment treaty. Both were discontinued without a finding that Nigeria breached treaty obligations.

The group also pointed to the pending Jupiter Lithium arbitration as evidence that Nigeria’s exposure to investment disputes is not limited to petroleum. Premium Times reported that 89 civil society organisations had recently asked Nigeria’s federal government to publish the country’s investment treaty review.

For the Niger Delta, where oil-producing communities have endured decades of pollution, gas flaring and damage to livelihoods, Policy Alert said the issue is whether investment agreements preserve the government’s ability to hold investors accountable for environmental harm.

The organisation acknowledged that its research had not shown ISDS directly caused Nigeria to abandon a specific environmental reform. It said its concern is that the prospect of expensive arbitration could discourage governments from adopting public-interest measures.

Policy Alert said it does not oppose foreign investment and that investors are entitled to fair treatment. It asked the Federal Ministry of Justice to disclose the status of the treaty review, identify treaties requiring renegotiation and publish a timetable for implementing recommendations.

The group also proposed an annual Investment Treaty Accountability Scorecard, to be developed by civil society organisations, to track treaty reforms, arbitration developments, fiscal transparency, legislative oversight and environmental safeguards.

Source: news report, Premium Times via AllAfrica, Oct. 22, 2026