By Joyce Ekeh with Agency report
The Federal Government has unveiled 65 investment projects requiring $78.5 billion in funding as it steps up efforts to attract foreign capital into Nigeria, offering investors 100 per cent foreign ownership in most sectors, tax incentives and improved investment facilitation.
The projects, spanning energy, transport, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, technology and other critical sectors, were presented to prospective investors at a forum organised by the Nigerian delegation to the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.
The government also announced plans to establish an investment Deal Room to connect investors with project sponsors, provide detailed financial information and accelerate investment decisions, while promising clearer business rules, more predictable regulations and improved access to economic data.
The initiative comes as Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, outlined the next phase of economic reforms, with a focus on food inflation, electricity supply, decent jobs, regulatory efficiency and business competitiveness.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, meanwhile, said improved external reserves and relative naira stability had strengthened the economy’s capacity to withstand global shocks, while the Dangote Group credited policy reforms with helping it manage its $17 billion refinery investment.
Speaking at the investors’ forum, Idris Bellow Osagie, Special Adviser on Economic Strategy to the Minister of Finance, said the Deal Room was designed to bridge the information gap between project sponsors seeking capital and investors searching for viable opportunities.
He said the government had consulted federal and state governments, government agencies and private-sector participants to identify projects requiring financing and assemble their details on a centralised platform.
The information would include project sponsors, capital requirements, minimum investment thresholds, financing structures and other details investors need to evaluate opportunities.
Osagie urged foreign investors to look beyond concerns about Nigeria’s economic conditions and assess the opportunities available in the country.
He said the government would continue updating project information and facilitate meetings between prospective investors, project sponsors and relevant officials to help move transactions from initial interest to investment decisions.
Energy, transport dominate $78.5bn pipeline
Details of the investment pipeline show that oil, gas and power account for the largest share, with 25 projects requiring $36.4 billion.
Transport and maritime projects account for another $25 billion across eight projects, while six agriculture and agro-processing projects require $9.8 billion.
Industry, manufacturing and mining account for 17 projects requiring $6.6 billion, while nine projects in technology, health and urban services require a combined $700 million.
Energy and transport alone therefore account for $61.4 billion, or approximately 78 per cent of the total investment requirement.
The presentation showed that the 65 projects cover different investment sizes, from $1 million to $15 billion.
Twenty-nine projects require less than $100 million each, while 18 need between $100 million and $499 million. One project falls within the $500 million to $999 million range, while 17 mega-projects require at least $1 billion each.
The 17 mega-projects account for $72.3 billion of the total funding requirement, highlighting the concentration of capital needs in a relatively small number of large transactions.
However, 48 projects require less than $500 million each, offering opportunities for investors with different financing capacities.
FG targets food prices, power, decent jobs
Oyedele said the next phase of economic reforms would address structural constraints affecting production, business operations and household welfare, identifying food inflation, electricity supply, regulatory inefficiency, employment and data transparency as key priorities.
On food inflation, he said the government was investigating the underlying sources of rising prices to ensure that interventions addressed the actual causes rather than perceived problems.
“One of the drivers of inflation is food, so we are now trying to piece it together to find where these problems are coming from,” he said.
He added that the objective was not merely to reduce inflation to single digits but to sustain it at that level.
“We know where the inflation and the pressure for it is coming from, and we’re going to tackle it there, not only just to bring it down to a single digit, but to keep it there,” he stated.
On electricity, the minister said Nigeria’s economic ambitions would remain out of reach without improvements in power supply and transmission infrastructure.
“You cannot power a $1 trillion economy in darkness. It’s impossible,” he declared.
He said the government was examining ways to address electricity pricing and transmission constraints, noting that a more efficient power sector would help reduce production costs, expand output and improve the country’s attractiveness to investors.
Oyedele also identified regulatory inefficiency as a major burden on businesses, citing excessive regulations, unclear requirements, multiple fees and licensing procedures as obstacles to private-sector growth.
“We estimate that overregulation, regulatory burden, lack of clarity, and all of those excessive burdens that we put on businesses actually are costing us more than the combined revenue from corporate tax, personal income tax and VAT combined,” he said.
Describing regulatory reform as a potentially low-cost way to improve the business environment, he added: “If you ask me, what is the best example of a win-win outcome where the government wins, the private sector wins even more, and it costs the government nearly nothing? It’s solving the problem around regulatory efficiency.”
He disclosed that the government was developing an economic policy framework to improve regulatory consistency and prevent arbitrary introduction of new rules, fees and licences.
“So you don’t just wake up one day and introduce a new rule or a new fee or new licenses. No, not anymore,” he stated.
On employment, Oyedele said the government’s priority was to create decent jobs that improve living standards rather than focus solely on the official unemployment rate.
“We are clear in our minds that we don’t just need to create jobs; we need to create decent jobs,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria’s official unemployment rate was around five per cent, while poverty remained above 50 per cent, a situation he said reflected the difficulties faced by many working Nigerians.
“Officially, our unemployment rate is around five per cent and poverty rate is higher than 50 per cent, so you have a lot of working poor,” he stated.
The minister said the government was also working with monetary authorities to improve liquidity and make it easier for investors to exit naira-denominated investments.
On taxation of government securities, he promised greater clarity to enable investors to make informed decisions.
“I cannot guarantee you that there will be no tax, but I can guarantee you there will be clarity so you can price correctly,” he said.
He also disclosed that the government was working with the National Bureau of Statistics to improve the timeliness and usefulness of economic data, including employment and producer-price information.
FG offers tax credits, investment protections
To attract foreign capital, the government highlighted incentives and protections including 100 per cent foreign ownership in most sectors and full repatriation of capital and profits, subject to obtaining a Certificate of Capital Importation.
The presentation also cited 17 double-taxation agreements, 13 bilateral investment treaties and Nigeria’s membership of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
On tax incentives, Oyedele said the reformed tax system offered an alternative to conventional tax holidays through an Economic Development Incentive that provides qualifying investors with tax credits.
“We’ve transformed our tax system. We have something that is better than a tax holiday. It’s called the Economic Development Incentive, where you get a tax credit,” he said.
He explained that the incentive was designed to reward qualifying investments while limiting abuse.
“The good thing about it is it’s hard to abuse, so you have to earn it to get the credit,” he added.
The investment presentation stated that qualifying capital expenditure could attract a tax credit of five per cent per annum for five years under the Economic Development Tax Incentive.
Oyedele said the Deal Room would help prospective investors navigate the process of setting up factories and accessing available incentives.
“They will show you, they will handhold you, and make it easy for you to do what you have to do,” he said.
The government encouraged interested investors to examine the project profiles in its online investment directory and the Projects Nigeria Special Edition, which provide information on project sponsors, deal structures and investment requirements.
Cardoso: Reserves, naira stability strengthen economy
Cardoso said monetary reforms had strengthened Nigeria’s ability to withstand external shocks, pointing to improved external reserves, relative exchange-rate stability and the appreciation of the naira.
He said the country’s external reserves had reached their highest level in 18 years, providing a stronger buffer against global economic headwinds, including geopolitical tensions and international trade uncertainties.
“What we’ve been able to accomplish in terms of having very robust external reserves, highest in 18 years, is also something that affects the ordinary person,” he said.
According to him, the reforms and policies implemented early enough had helped Nigeria prepare for external pressures.
“The good thing was that the reforms and the policies were things that were thought through, and we started to implement early enough, such that when those headwinds started to come, not only from the war, but also from the discussions around putting on tariffs, our exchange rate has held stable. In fact, it appreciated,” he said.
Cardoso argued that the benefits of stronger external reserves and exchange-rate stability extended to ordinary Nigerians, even when households did not immediately feel the impact.
“What does this mean for me? I’m not feeling it. You do, you definitely feel it. If it wasn’t there, then you would feel it in a very negative way,” he said.
He identified inflation as a major threat to household welfare, describing it as a burden that disproportionately affects poorer Nigerians by eroding their purchasing power.
“The reason why we felt it was important to give ourselves this as a target is to recognise the fact that inflation is probably the biggest tax on the poor, and so it is critical that we bring it down to levels that are more manageable,” he said.
Cardoso said inflation had declined from about 34 to 35 per cent to around 15 per cent, describing the reduction as significant but insufficient.
“I mean, in this instance, inflation has gone from about 34 per cent, 35 per cent to about 15 per cent, and yes, that’s a significant decrease, very significant. But what we are saying basically is that we are not going to rest,” he stated.
He said the medium-term objective remained to bring inflation to single digits, adding that the CBN’s transition towards inflation targeting would improve transparency and help the public understand the direction of monetary policy.
Dangote Group credits reforms for $17bn refinery investment
The Dangote Group also endorsed the government’s reform efforts, saying improved consistency and credibility in fiscal and monetary policies had helped restore investor confidence and strengthen business planning.
Hassan Mammud, Group Chief Economist of Dangote Group, who represented the conglomerate at the forum, said the policy environment had helped the company improve its projections and manage the challenges associated with its investment of about $17 billion in the Dangote Refinery.
“The transparency and the credibility we have seen in that has significantly enabled the Dangote Group to have good projections and was able to come out of the woods from his investment of about $17 billion dollars in the refinery,” he said.
He added that such an investment would be difficult to execute without consistency and credibility in government policies.
“That cannot happen in an economy where there are no consistencies, where there are no credibility of fiscal and monetary policy, and also the incentives that goes with operating in an export-free zone,” he said.
Mammud urged prospective investors to consider Nigeria’s opportunities, arguing that credible policies and a predictable business environment were essential to attracting long-term capital.
“Please come into Nigeria, bring your investment. Nigeria is actually a symbol to other African countries now,” he said.
He also cited the Dangote Group’s expansion into Kenya as an example of the potential for Nigerian businesses to contribute to industrial development across Africa.
The government’s $78.5 billion investment pipeline, alongside its proposed Deal Room and incentives, is intended to translate investor interest into concrete transactions across critical sectors.
Whether the projects attract the required capital will depend on investors’ assessment of their commercial viability, financing structures, policy consistency and the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
