AfDB to Help Nigeria Design Security-Indexed Investment Bonds

By Sodeinde Temidayo David

In order to assist Nigeria with an alternative funding avenue for tackling insecurity, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has offered to design and implement security-indexed investment bonds.

President of AfDB, Mr Akinwumi Adesina, while speaking on Monday at the two-day mid-term ministerial performance review retreat in Abuja, stated that these bonds would be offered at the capital market.

According to him, the investment tool would be issued at the global debt markets and would be available for different countries to access, with proceeds used to upgrade security architecture, rebuild damaged infrastructure in conflict-affected areas, rebuild social infrastructure and protect zones with strategic investments.

Mr Adesina emphasised that without security, there cannot be investment, growth or development in a country, explaining that an economically resurgent of Nigeria must be a more peaceful and secure Nigeria.

“Today, more than ever, several African countries are spending a significant share of their budgets on security, displacing the resources needed for development,

“We must recognise the strong linkages between security, investment, growth, and development.

“That is why the African Development Bank is working on developing security-indexed investment bonds to help African countries and regional economic communities to mobilise resources to tackle these challenges,” Mr Adesina noted.

The AfDB president further emphasised the importance of the modernisation and transformation of ports in Nigeria, adding that ports are not there for revenue generation as they are for facilitating business and exports and stimulating industrial manufacturing, and competitiveness of local businesses and exports,

“We should not be decongesting the ports in Nigeria, we should be transforming the ports,” he noted, explaining that this must start with cleaning up administrative bottlenecks, most of which are unnecessary with multiple government agencies at the ports, high transaction costs or even plain extortions from illegal taxes, which do not go into the coffers of the government.

The AfDB president said Nigeria should take the fintech industry as a major driver of the economy and invest heavily in digital infrastructure.

Mr Adesina further expressed that Nigeria should make its youth the drivers of the new economy through youth entrepreneurship investment banks.

He also recommended the establishment of special agro-industrial processing zones across the country and the reinstatement and enshrinement into law of the e-wallet system and growth enhancement scheme, stating that such establishments would boost farmers’ access to farm inputs.