Gas Investment Forum (GIF) 2025 and its strategic partners have announced that Ms. Olubukola Arowolo Verheijen, the Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Energy, will serve as Chief Host and deliver the Special Keynote Address at this year’s Forum, taking place from October 7 to 8, 2025, at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos.
Mrs. Verheijen’s participation marks a defining moment for the Forum as it convenes energy leaders, investors, policymakers, and innovators from across Africa and beyond to advance a shared vision for natural gas industrialization, sustainable development, and regional energy security.
As Nigeria continues to implement its Decade of Gas agenda, her keynote address is expected to set the tone for bold and inclusive discourse on unlocking investments and delivering long-term impact.
Verheijen’s leadership at the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy (OSAE)—coordinating transformational reforms across the oil, gas, and power sectors—has been instrumental in repositioning Nigeria as a prime global energy investment destination, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda.
The Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy has spearheaded the design and implementation of presidential directives that have unlocked nearly $6 billion in oil and gas Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) since 2024.
In the clean energy space, policy, fiscal and regulatory reforms championed by the Office have facilitated over $700 million worth of investments across Nigeria’s clean mobility and clean cooking value chains.
At the President’s direction, the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) is complementing other critical efforts to jointly deliver over 6.6 million smart meters across all 36 States—a landmark national effort managed by the Office of the Special Adviser on Energy, and one of the most ambitious interventions in Nigeria’s power sector history.
These achievements collectively reflect a reform-oriented and data-driven approach, which has restored Nigeria’s leadership as the top upstream capital expenditure destination in Africa as of 2024.
With over 20 years of experience across investment, energy strategy, and public policy in Africa, Verheijen has held leadership roles at Shell, Latimer Energy, and Persistent. She serves on the board of the Presidential CNG Initiative and advises international organizations like Energy for Growth and the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
She is a Fellow of the Energy Institute, a Harvard Kennedy School alumna, and Founder of the BFA Foundation for women’s advancement.
In recognition of her outstanding contributions to Nigeria’s gas and energy reform agenda, Ms. Verheijen will also be presented with the “Special Exemplary Leadership Award”, as Chief Honoree, during the Gas Investment Leadership Awards Gala, on the evening of October 7.
Gas Investment Forum 2025 is endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and co-hosted by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). It serves as West Africa’s leading investment platform for gas, bringing together over 1,000 participants, more than 100 speakers, and 20 curated sessions, including a GRMH Technical Masterclass Stage focused on Gas, Renewables, Mining, and Hydrogen.
As the Forum prepares to welcome high-level speakers and delegations from around the world, the participation of Mrs. Olu Verheijen affirms Nigeria’s renewed energy reform drive and underscores its commitment to gas as a backbone for industrial growth, clean energy access, and economic transformation across Africa.
Discover unparalleled opportunities (sponsorship, investment showcase tradeshow, speaking and delegate bookings) at www.gasinvestmentforum.com.
