Nigeria is seeking $78.5bn in private capital to finance 65 projects across critical sectors of the economy, as the Federal Government steps up efforts to attract investors, expand productive capacity and create jobs.

The investment opportunities were presented by Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, alongside Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, at the ongoing IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok.

The projects cover oil and gas, electricity, manufacturing, mining, transportation, agriculture, technology, healthcare and urban development, according to details published on the Federal Ministry of Finance’s Projects Nigeria investment portal.

The government estimates that the proposed investments could generate 366,763 jobs, positioning the initiative as part of its efforts to stimulate economic growth through private-sector financing.

Oyedele said the government had established a dedicated Nigeria Deal Room to provide prospective investors with project information, financing requirements and direct access to relevant government authorities.

The energy sector accounts for the largest share of the investment pipeline, with 25 projects requiring funding, while industry, manufacturing and mining account for another 17.

Transport and maritime infrastructure have eight projects, while agriculture and agro-processing account for six. Technology, healthcare and urban services make up the remaining nine projects.

Among the proposed investments is Project Reliaxx, a crude oil evacuation and midstream infrastructure platform requiring $1.7bn.

The project is expected to address infrastructure needs in the oil industry, where evacuation constraints can affect production and revenue generation.

The proposed Lagos Greenline Railway requires $1.29bn, while the Multipurpose Industrial Platforms Limited ammonia and phosphate fertiliser project has an estimated funding requirement of $2.69bn.

Other opportunities include the $1.25bn Premium Steel and Mines integrated steel upgrade, the $355.6m PELIA Flare-Gas AI Data Centre and a $105m agro-processing and cold-chain export hub in Giri, Abuja.

The proposed New Port City development also features in the portfolio, with an estimated capital requirement of $1.6bn.

Oyedele said the government planned further reforms to address obstacles to investment, including electricity pricing, transmission constraints, weak agricultural productivity and regulatory inefficiencies.

He also identified lower inflation, reduced borrowing costs and better coordination between fiscal and monetary policies as important conditions for sustained economic growth.

The minister highlighted the Economic Development Incentive, which provides tax credits to eligible businesses under Nigeria’s reformed tax framework, as part of the measures intended to encourage investment in productive sectors.

Cardoso, on his part, said reducing inflation remained essential to protecting household purchasing power, particularly among low-income Nigerians.

He also pointed to improvements in Nigeria’s capital market and banking system, noting that banks raised approximately N4.6tn during the recapitalisation exercise, with about 72 per cent of the funds coming from the domestic capital market.

The CBN governor said Nigeria was targeting economic growth of 7 per cent by 2027/2028, alongside higher oil production and increased infrastructure investment.

He said the country planned to raise crude oil production to three million barrels per day and increase its infrastructure stock to 75 per cent of gross domestic product.

Cardoso added that stronger external reserves had improved the country’s capacity to withstand external economic shocks.

“The country plans to raise oil production to three million barrels per day and increase its infrastructure stock to 75 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” he said.

The World Bank Group had earlier said it was helping mobilise up to $5.79bn in private financing for Nigeria in fiscal year 2026, with programmes expected to support about 850,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Source: punchng.com

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The Federal Government has approved plans to build a new Eastern-Western electricity grid as part of efforts to address Nigeria’s recurring power grid collapses.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this at the recent HBSAN energy conference in Lagos, where he outlined plans to address longstanding weaknesses in the country’s electricity transmission infrastructure.

Tegbe said the government is preparing to begin the procurement process for the projects, adding that Nigerians would begin to see their benefits in two to three years.

He revealed that the government has started a technical audit across the entire country to understand the issues with the power sector and to know what should be prioritised.

“We have clustered Nigeria into three energy zones. The first one is the one that demands 50 per cent. If you fix Lagos and you fix the Abuja corridors, you’ve solved more than half of the problem of Nigeria. Because you can’t do that alone based on operational efficiency, you also have to build out your grid.

The President has approved that we commence the process of building out the grid: East and Western grid. We’re going through the procurement process, but it’s something you’ll see the benefits in two to three years,” the Minister said.

The minister said the technical audit of electricity infrastructure is to identify faults and determine which facilities require urgent repairs or replacement.

He said the exercise was intended to ensure that interventions addressed the actual causes of problems rather than directing funds towards the wrong equipment.

“We have started a technical audit across the entire country to say where do we have issues, and what issues specifically do we have. I don’t want to fix transformer issues where I have conductor and relay problems. I don’t want to fix insulators where the challenges I actually have are towers. So, we will finish that technical audit in the next couple of weeks. When we finish it, we then target our prioritised areas,” he said.

Tegbe attributed some of the challenges facing the transmission network to the age of its infrastructure, saying certain facilities dated back several decades.

He maintained that some transmission towers and lines were inherited from an era when the Electricity Company of Nigeria operated before the National Electric Power Authority.

“This government has inherited a problem of 50 years. Before I became the Minister of Power, honestly, I used to think that everybody in the power sector just didn’t know their left from right. But the reality is, some of the towers have gone down with some of the transmission lines there.

“When I went to the site, I saw some of them carrying the logo of ECN. Many people in this room might not know what ECN is. ECN predated NEPA. So, some of these things were built 50 years ago. That is the reality,” he stated.

Source: punchng.com

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The International Monetary Fund has advised Nigeria against restoring blanket petrol subsidy, urging the Federal Government to channel support towards vulnerable citizens as rising energy costs put pressure on households.

The Director of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, Rodrigo Valdés, gave the advice on Wednesday while responding to a question about calls for the return of petrol subsidy in Nigeria ahead of elections, during the IMF and World Bank Group annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.

Valdés acknowledged the political pressure governments face when fuel prices rise but said blanket subsidies were costly and that available resources would be better used to support people most affected by higher energy prices.

He said, “At the end of the day, it’s very tempting politically speaking because it’s not trivial the political effect of the price of oil, of fuels, of gasoline, of diesel.

“But you have to explain that this is a global shock, first. Second, that it’s very, very expensive for the country not to recognise that shock.

“And third, it’s much better to use some of that money that would you spend in the subsidies channeled towards more vulnerable people.”

He added that targeted support was preferable to a blanket subsidy, saying: “Yeah, gasoline could go up and perhaps bus fees may be subsidised in a way. That is a much better policy at the end of the day than just a blanket subsidy for everybody.”

He said governments should consider targeted assistance rather than keeping fuel prices artificially low for all consumers.

The IMF has argued that broad-based fuel subsidies are expensive and often disproportionately benefit higher-income consumers, who tend to consume more fuel.

The advice comes as Nigeria faces renewed pressure over petrol prices following increases in global energy costs.

The Federal Government recently announced a 30-day petrol discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail stations, with priority for public transport operators, to cushion the impact on consumers.

Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said NNPC retail would sell petrol at cost by foregoing its retail profit margin, describing the measure as temporary relief rather than a return to petrol subsidy.

The government has also proposed negotiating a ceiling of N1,350 per litre on petrol’s ex-gantry or landing cost, subject to monthly reviews.

Valdés said fuel subsidies could also worsen global energy pressures by preventing demand from adjusting when supplies were constrained.

“When you subsidise, you don’t allow, at the end of the day, demand to adjust.

“And reality is that we have less fuels in the world economy. That means that someone else has to adjust more, and the market produces a higher price for that,” he said.

The IMF also recommended targeted interventions to cushion the impact of higher fuel prices on transportation costs.

A division chief in the fund’s Fiscal Affairs Department, Davide Furceri, suggested that governments could redirect resources from blanket subsidies towards support for public transport users and other vulnerable groups.

He also suggested measures such as school feeding programmes, geographical targeting and assistance for vulnerable farmers.

Furceri acknowledged that some countries lacked household registries and digital payment systems needed to deliver targeted assistance effectively, but said governments could adopt alternative approaches while developing stronger systems.

He recommended that support should be limited, targeted and temporary.

Source: punchng.com

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