By Adedapo Adesanya

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, says that reliance on aid and concessional finance was neither sustainable nor sufficient.

He said this at the opening of a high-level capacity-building session in Abuja on Wednesday, noting that Nigeria needs to strengthen local funding sources, a message that also guided discussions during a visit by an Ethiopian delegation to learn about Nigeria’s Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF).

“Domestic Resource Mobilisation remains the most critical pillar of any credible financing framework”, he said. “Our objective is not to increase the burden on citizens. Our objective is to create a fairer, more efficient and growth-oriented revenue system that supports development, encourages enterprise and strengthens voluntary compliance.”

The minister presented Nigeria’s INFF as a practical, evolving response to the continent’s widening financing gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063.

He outlined the process that had produced the framework — a Development Finance Assessment, a multi-stakeholder steering committee and a Financing Strategy aligned with the Medium-Term National Development Plan.

He also cited concrete reforms such as expanded digitalisation of tax administration, deeper engagement with international capital markets through green and sustainability-linked instruments and institutionalised accountability mechanisms.

“These are not merely technical outputs,” Mr Oyedele said. “They are the instruments by which we mobilise, align and deploy financing to turn plans into services — schools, clinics, roads and social protection for our people.”

He insisted the INFF was “a living framework” that would continue to adapt as Nigeria sought to deepen private-sector participation, mobilise climate finance and strengthen subnational financing architecture.

The minister’s emphasis on sovereign revenue came with a direct appeal to state actors, urging states to pursue reforms that would increase the tax-to-GDP ratio without unduly burdening households.

Mr Oyedele positioned the INFF as the mechanism to reduce external dependence by aligning public, private, domestic and international finance with national priorities.

“This is not cause for despair”, he said of Africa’s financing gap. “Rather, it is an opportunity to rethink how development is financed and to ensure that every available source of capital is aligned with national priorities.”

Addressing the Ethiopian delegation directly, Mr Oyedele framed the engagement as mutual learning, stating: “Nigeria does not claim to have all the answers. Rather, we offer our experience in the spirit of partnership, transparency and mutual learning. Ask difficult questions. Challenge assumptions. Share your innovations and experiences.”

In her remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, told delegates that the capacity of states to effectively mobilise, manage and deploy financial resources directly influenced the quality of life of millions of Nigerians.

She stressed that states must carry constitutional responsibility for primary healthcare, basic education, water and sanitation and other frontline services.

She also warned that current revenue and institutional weaknesses at the subnational level threatened service delivery across the country.

“The fiscal realities confronting many sub-national governments — rising expenditure pressures, limited internally generated revenue, growing infrastructure deficits, climate-related vulnerabilities and global economic uncertainties — are battering state finances,“ Mrs Orelope-Adefulire said. “Addressing these issues requires innovative thinking, bold reforms and stronger collaboration among all key stakeholders.”

On her part, UNDP Resident Representative, Ms Elsie Attafuah, echoed the call for domestic solutions while emphasising the value of peer learning.

“The Sustainable Development Goals are ultimately delivered in states, provinces, cities and communities,” she said. “This is why strengthening fiscal capacity at the state level is not simply a revenue issue. It is fundamentally a development issue.”

Ms Attafuah commended Nigeria’s reform agenda and stressed that South-South cooperation, exemplified by the Ethiopia–Nigeria exchange, could accelerate progress, noting, “No single country has all the answers. Yet every country has lessons that can help others move further and faster.”

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria has launched the Early-Stage Mineral Exploration and Research Grant Endowment Program (EMERGE), a new initiative aimed at accelerating early-stage mineral exploration, strengthening geological research and advancing local value addition.

The programme is part of moves to unlock Nigeria’s $750 billion worth of untapped mineral deposits under broader efforts to diversify its economy beyond oil.

Nigeria has outlined plans to expand mineral exploration and production, identifying 44 strategic mineral deposits and is seeking developers with the requisite capital and technological expertise to invest.

The government has also sought to increase mining’s contribution to GDP to 10 per cent in 2026. However, unlocking these opportunities will require stronger geological data, greater technical capacity and increased investment in early-stage exploration.

The introduction of the EMERGE initiative aims to address these gaps. The programme is centred around three areas of focus: science-backed exploration, critical minerals development and research and development.

The exploration stream targets early-stage geological insights to generate reliable mineral data, the critical minerals stream targets minerals required for the energy transition, while the research and development stream integrates science and innovation across the value chain.

Driven by the Solid Minerals Development Fund, the programme is designed to position Nigeria as a major player in the global minerals value chain. It also builds on a rising wave of international partnerships aimed at modernising Nigeria’s exploration infrastructure through digitisation and enhanced capacity building.

Nigeria and Turkey formalised a partnership agreement in May 2026, aimed at strengthening cooperation in mining technology, exploration and investment.

Nigeria has also entered geological mapping and exploration cooperation agreements with South Sudan and South Africa, aimed at advancing geological and technical expertise while facilitating greater investment flows across the exploration sector.

Recent mineral ambitions are being backed by global finance. In March 2026, Nigeria secured $1.3 billion from the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) to fund its mineral exploration programs as well as the construction of an alumina refinery, advancing its national mineral production and domestic beneficiation strategy.

Also, late last year, the federal government allocated over $600 million for geoscientific exploration and nationwide mapping, highlighting Nigeria’s commitment to de-risk the sector through access to modern geological data and accelerated exploration activities.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

To strengthen its integrated agribusiness platform, Ellah Lakes Plc has acquired the first set of expellers and presses for its Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) mill.

The company also plans to proceed with the installation of its abattoir and cold chain facility to support its longer-term strategy of scaling its piggery operations, improving processing capacity and enhancing market access for livestock products.

At the moment, Ellah Lakes has surpassed 1,000 pigs on its farm, reflecting continued progress in the scaling of its livestock operations, positioning the organisation as one of the leading piggery operators in Edo State and reinforcing livestock as an important vertical within its integrated agribusiness model, which supports revenue diversification and near-to-medium-term cash flow generation as the firm’s plantation assets continue to mature.

In a statement, the leading indigenous agribusiness organisation disclosed that the installation of the expellers and presses for its PKO mill should be completed by the end of Q3 2026, ahead of the commencement of the production of Palm Kernel Oil and Palm Kernel Cake (PKC).

It was noted that the addition of PKO and PKC production will enable Ellah Lakes to capture further value from its oil palm operations, expand its product base and deepen its participation across the agricultural value chain.

“These milestones reflect the continued execution of our strategy to build Ellah Lakes into a more integrated and commercially resilient agribusiness platform.

“The acquisition of equipment for our PKO Mill advances our move into higher-value processing, while the growth of our piggery operations strengthens an important cash-generating vertical within our business model,” the chief executive of Ellah Lakes, Mr Chuka Mordi, stated.

“As our plantation assets continue to mature, we are focused on expanding operating verticals that broaden our revenue base, improve value capture and support more consistent cash flow.

“Our priority is to complete key installations, scale production efficiently and build the infrastructure required to support sustainable long-term growth,” Mr Mordi added.