West African Infrastructure: Elumelu Backs $15 Billion Pipeline

LAGOS, Nigeria — Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holdings, is backing a proposed $15 billion investment pipeline to finance West African infrastructure and narrow the region’s infrastructure deficit.

Elumelu, who is also co-chair of the West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS), disclosed the initiative in an email response to Bloomberg, which reported it on Thursday, October 15, 2026.

West African infrastructure pipeline targets $15 billion

The initiative involves identifying viable projects across several West African countries and presenting them to potential financiers ahead of the inaugural summit in Sierra Leone in November. The financiers include United Bank for Africa (UBA), Afreximbank, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Africa50.

According to Elumelu, the portfolio will prioritise energy, trade, industrialisation, strategic minerals, agriculture and digital infrastructure projects.

Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, Special Envoy for the summit, said organisers received 170 project submissions and selected 26 real projects worth more than $10 billion from over ten countries. He said the portfolio is expected to reach $15 billion or more before the summit.

The summit was initiated and convened by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio. It is expected to bring together governments, investors and development finance institutions to speed up financing for strategic regional projects.

Nigeria-Morocco pipeline and West African infrastructure integration

The initiative comes as West African countries pursue major cross-border projects to strengthen connectivity, energy security and integration. One of the most prominent is the $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, also known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, which has the backing of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The pipeline would carry natural gas from Nigeria through several West African countries to Morocco, with connections to European energy markets.

• In June 2022, the Federal Executive Council approved NNPC Ltd. to negotiate an agreement with ECOWAS on the project.
• By December 2022, Nigeria, Morocco and ECOWAS had formalised cooperation through a memorandum of understanding on project development and financing. NNPC later signed additional agreements involving The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ghana.
• In April 2026, Nigeria and Morocco were preparing to conclude an intergovernmental agreement supporting plans to move up to 30 billion cubic metres of gas annually.
• In July 2026, ECOWAS member states signed an intergovernmental agreement in Sierra Leone, setting a framework for project management, regional coordination and investment mobilisation.

Elumelu expands Seplat Energy stake

Kanyi Daily reports that Elumelu has also continued to expand his investments in Nigeria. On September 30, 2026, Heirs Energies Limited, a company he controls, acquired an additional six million shares in Seplat Energy Plc. That lifted the combined holdings of Heirs Energies and Heirs Holdings from 120.4 million to 126.4 million shares and raised their combined voting interest from 20.07% to 21.07%.

A Nairametrics analysis published on October 5 estimated that the market value of his holdings in Seplat Energy, UBA and Transnational Corporation Plc rose by ₦684.59 billion between June and September 2026. The combined value climbed from about ₦1.74 trillion to ₦2.43 trillion, a 39.3% quarterly increase. Seplat accounted for ₦654.20 billion, about 95.6% of the gain, while UBA contributed ₦44.50 billion.