Mr Cardoso brings extensive experience spanning international banking, investment management, economic policy and public sector leadership. Since assuming office as Governor of the CBN in September 2023, he has led a far-reaching programme of monetary, financial-sector, and institutional reforms to restore macroeconomic stability, strengthen policy credibility, and rebuild investor confidence in Nigeria’s economy.

Under his leadership, the CBN has implemented significant reforms to Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, addressed longstanding foreign exchange obligations, strengthened monetary policy transmission, and enhanced institutional governance and transparency. The Bank has also concluded a recapitalisation programme for the banking sector, aimed at strengthening the resilience and capacity of Nigeria’s financial system to support sustainable economic growth.

Prior to his appointment as Governor, Mr Cardoso built a distinguished career in international banking and public service, including a 12-year tenure as Chairman of Citibank Nigeria and service as Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget in Lagos State. In the latter role, he contributed to economic planning and fiscal management in one of Africa’s largest economies. He holds a degree from Aston University in the United Kingdom and a master’s in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School, where he also served on the Alumni Board.

Mr Cardoso’s appointment comes as AFC continues to expand its role in financing and developing strategic infrastructure assets that address Africa’s infrastructure gap, accelerate industrialisation and strengthen regional integration. His experience in financial sector reform, institutional governance and capital markets will provide valuable perspective on the Corporation’s strategic direction as it mobilises investment to unlock Africa’s economic potential.

Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of AFC, said: “We are delighted to welcome Mr Cardoso as our Board Chairman. He shares our conviction that Africa’s lasting stability depends on its productive capacity. His leadership will strengthen AFC as we advance The Africa We Build 2050, mobilising African capital to build the infrastructure and industries that create jobs, prosperity and dignity for our people. We also sincerely thank Mrs Samuel-Ogbu for her dedication and contribution to AFC’s board during her tenure.”

Mr. Cardoso commented on his appointment, saying: “A more productive Africa is a more stable Africa. AFC has the credibility and track record to mobilise capital and build the infrastructure and industries that drive transformation. I look forward to working with the Board, management and member states to advance The Africa We Build 2050. Our measure of success must be the productive capacity we create, the industries we enable and the jobs we support.”

AFC continues to advance transformational infrastructure and industrial investments across Africa, with recent milestones including achieving financial close on the US$753 million Lobito Corridor Railway Project in Angola, to support the rehabilitation, upgrade, and long-term operation of the 1,300-kilometre brownfield rail corridor; supporting a US$600 million facility for Dangote Group’s US$7 billion fertiliser expansion programme to scale production in Nigeria; and committing to a combined US$300 million investment alongside Vision Invest in WIOCC Group to accelerate the expansion of critical digital infrastructure across the continent. These investments reflect AFC’s unique approach to developing strategic infrastructure platforms that connect markets, strengthen industrial value chains and mobilise capital at scale to drive Africa’s economic transformation.

Ghana’s gas policy prioritizes domestic processing, with gas directed first to power generation and then to industry, Jinapor said. The switch from liquid fuels saved Ghana about $500 million in a single year through import substitution, at a time when electricity demand is growing about 10% annually. Nigeria supplies Ghana through the West African Gas Pipeline, and he said Ghana expects to double those volumes under its current agreements. Ghana is also building a 278 km pipeline to link its main power centers, and is using a levy on pump fuel to fund LPG adoption, targeting 50% penetration within three years.

Senegal, which began exporting LNG in 2025, is working to balance exports with supply to its own economy. El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf, Minister of Energy and Petroleum, said companies often prioritize export markets, leaving governments to secure domestic supply. Senegal is targeting domestic gas supply of around 150 million standard cubic feet per day by 2030, delivered through a national gas network to power plants across the country. Diouf said the network’s pipeline, which has faced delays, is expected within nine months.

Philip Mshelbila, Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), called the choice between exports and domestic use “a false choice.” In his address, he said: “Exports mobilize capital, revenue and investment confidence. Domestic utilization is the development multiplier.” The GECF’s Global Gas Outlook projects African gas demand will more than double, from 175 billion cubic meters in 2024 to about 374 billion cubic meters by 2055.

Panel moderator Oliver Onyekweli, Partner at McKinsey & Company, noted that only around 3% of gas commercialized in Africa is traded within the continent. Mshelbila said regional cooperation, gas storage and cross-border infrastructure will determine how resilient African markets are to future supply disruptions. He cited the Senegal-Mauritania Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project as a model.

NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, described gas as a “Swiss knife” for African development, with uses spanning power generation, petrochemicals and fertilizers. “We are a gas continent before an oil continent,” he asserted.

Ghana’s gas master plan, currently under review, sets a 15-year blueprint for the country’s gas infrastructure and budgeting.

Ghezali said exports and domestic supply should not compete. “I come from a country where you cannot export any drop of gas if the domestic demand is not satisfied,” he said. APPO and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) signed an agreement earlier this year to work jointly on gas corridors, and plan to harmonize transit tariffs and gas contracts across member states.

The panel focused on why domestic gas markets remain underdeveloped. Rashid Ali Abdallah, Executive Director of the African Energy Commission (AFREC), said recent investment has gone largely into export terminals while regional pipelines struggle to attract funding. He called for regional financing frameworks for cross-border infrastructure, and for joint planning of gas pipelines and power transmission.

In South Africa, industrial consumers face the loss of natural gas supply within about 18 months, with only a short-term coal supply bridge beyond that, said Jaco Human, Executive Officer of the Industrial Gas Users Association of Southern Africa (IGUA-SA). The gas aggregation company was formed to pool demand, share risk and underwrite new infrastructure across the region. Human said a proposed pipeline linking the Orange Basin to Western Cape and inland markets would need around 200 petajoules of annual demand. “We have much more demand than that, so the problem is not an economic one,” he said. “Rather, it is a coordination problem.”

Abubakar Abbas, Senior Energy Forecast Analyst at the GECF, said Africa will require at least $1 trillion over the next 30 years to develop its gas resources. Per capita energy consumption on the continent is about 25 gigajoules a year, well below the global average. Abderrezak Benyoucef, Head of Energy Studies at OPEC, said OPEC expects gas to rise from 17% to 23% of Africa’s energy mix by 2050. Electricity generation is projected to grow from under 1,000 TWh to about 2,700 TWh, with half of it from gas.

The AEB is headquartered in Abuja, where Nigeria handed over the bank’s offices to APPO and Afreximbank in February.