General
Nigeria, Brazil to Sign 30 MoUs on Agriculture, Energy, Others
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria will sign more than 30 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Brazil at the second session of the Nigeria-Brazil Strategic Dialogue Mechanism (SDM).
The event, a high-stakes diplomatic and investment engagement will begin on Monday, June 23, 2025 and coincides with the official visit of Brazilian Vice President, Mr Geraldo Alckmin.
According to the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Mr Ibrahim Hadejia, both parties will unlock new investment flows and deepen cooperation across key sectors including agriculture, energy, defence, innovation, and the creative economy.
Speaking during a media briefing on Wednesday, he noted that the bilateral talks and MoU signings would facilitate technical cooperation and open pathways for scalable private sector engagement
“This is a defining moment for Nigeria’s international diplomacy and economic expansion. The visit underscores a new chapter of strategic collaboration between two influential regional powers. It aligns seamlessly with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda of global partnerships and economic revitalisation.
“We will engage in comprehensive discussions aimed at expanding collaboration across sectors critical to our national development,” he said.
Among the summit’s major highlights is the Nigeria-Brazil Business Forum, scheduled for June 25. The forum is expected to attract hundreds of government and private sector leaders from both nations, representing a combined consumer base of over 400 million.
Also speaking, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Jumoke Oduwole, revealed that sector-specific platforms, including a Digital Trade Room, will be unveiled during the forum.
“Brazil’s experience in digital inclusion and Nigeria’s thriving fintech ecosystem present a powerful synergy for scalable innovation,” she said.
In the agriculture sector, the two countries are expected to sign MoUs targeting enhanced productivity through research in animal genetics, soya bean production, and mechanisation.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Abubakar Kyari, disclosed that the dialogue will also accelerate implementation of the Green Imperative Programme (GIP), a $4.5 billion investment to establish agricultural project delivery offices across all 774 local government areas in Nigeria.
“We are leveraging this platform to operationalise the Green Imperative and bring about real transformation in food production at scale,” Mr Kyari said.
The Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Ms Hannatu Musawa, said the SDM would help reposition Nigeria’s cultural and tourism industries.
“We are looking to tap into our shared Afro-Atlantic heritage with Brazil. The MoUs we sign will open up new economic and cultural opportunities in music, film, fashion, and tourism,” she said.
Planning for the dialogue has extended beyond federal agencies to include subnational governments and private sector players.
On her part, Mrs Marion Moon, Technical Assistant to the President on Agriculture and Executive Secretary of the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit, said Brazilian investors would be hosted in strategic states.
“Beyond Abuja, we’ll be taking the Brazilian delegation to investment sites in Kebbi, Plateau, Lagos, Edo, Nasarawa, and the FCT,” she said.
Also speaking, the Director of Regions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Janet Olisa, stressed that the MoUs will be anchored on shared strengths and economic priorities.
“We are ensuring that every ministry brings its best. Nearly 30 MoUs are under negotiation, and some will be signed during this visit. Others will be concluded when the President visits Brazil,” she said.
She affirmed that the SDM is not merely a diplomatic forum, but “a serious mechanism for real investment outcomes and deepening South-South cooperation.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) is developing a new investment vehicle that would channel part of Nigeria’s $22 billion pension assets into critical infrastructure projects, providing long-term financing for roads, railways, energy and healthcare.
The proposal was disclosed by PenCom spokesman, Mr Ibrahim Buwai, who said the initiative is expected to be launched later this year as the commission explores ways to mobilise pension assets for national development while protecting contributors’ savings.
Mr Buwai said the regulator is promoting the creation of a special-purpose investment vehicle that would allow pension assets from different fund managers to be pooled for financing commercially viable infrastructure projects.
“We are encouraging the setting up of a vehicle, kind of special purpose vehicle, where resources can be pooled, so that viable infrastructure projects can be looked at,” he said, explaining that the proposed fund is designed to balance national development with the interests of pension contributors by targeting investments capable of delivering returns that outperform inflation.
He noted, however, that participation will remain at the discretion of individual Pension Fund Administrators, while the final size of the investment vehicle is yet to be determined.
The proposal also comes as pension investments in infrastructure continue to expand. Latest data published by PenCom show that investments through infrastructure funds climbed by 38 per cent year-on-year to N318 billion (about $230 million) as of May 2026, reflecting growing interest among pension managers in long-term infrastructure assets.
The proposed infrastructure vehicle aligns with PenCom’s broader strategy of increasing the role of pension assets in Nigeria’s capital market and unlocking what it describes as the industry’s largest pool of long-term passive investment capital.
The initiative follows a period of strong growth in the pension industry, with Nigeria’s total pension assets rising to a record N31.32 trillion in May 2026 despite challenging economic conditions.
PenCom has also intensified efforts to strengthen compliance within the pension system. Working with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the commission recently recovered more than N3 billion in outstanding pension contributions that employers had failed to remit on behalf of workers.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has asked to be integrated into the B’Odogwu platform of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
This call was made by the head of NAQS, Mr Vincent Isegbe, during a meeting with the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mr Isegbe, who used the visit to congratulate Mr Adeniyi on the extension of his tenure as Chairperson of the World Customs Organisation Council, which he described as recognition of his dedication and leadership, praised what he called an excellent working relationship with Customs.
He outlined areas for closer partnership, including integrating NAQS into Customs’ B’Odogwu platform, joint enforcement operations, and coordinated efforts to detect fake certification and fraudulent documentation.
In his remarks, Mr Adeniyi commended his guest for the partnership, promising that NAQS will provide technical support for the new Customs laboratory.
According to him, this is one of the avenues to deepen collaboration between the two agencies on intelligence sharing, trade facilitation and national security.
He informed Mr Isegbe that his organisation was moving to harmonise inspection procedures across the country’s ports and border stations, a step he described as critical to promoting consistency, transparency and efficiency in cargo clearance nationwide.
He also stated that customs training facilities would be opened up to NAQS officers as part of a broader capacity-building push.
“We must expose our officers to the broader concept of national security. Border management goes beyond revenue collection,” Mr Adeniyi said, stressing that Customs sees itself as the anchor institution coordinating Nigeria’s multi-agency border protection efforts.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s solid minerals sector recorded a boom of 337 per cent in two years, jumping from N16 billion in 2023 to over N70 billion in 2025, according to the chief executive of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), Mrs Fatima Umaru Shinkafi.
She disclosed that the sector also recorded a remarkable 33.5 per cent real growth in 2025, while reforms attracted fresh investment commitments worth about $2.6 billion, including a $1.3 billion alumina refinery described as the single biggest mining investment in Nigeria’s history.
Mrs Shinkafi gave out these figures at the maiden Annual Lecture of the Faculty of Physical and Earth Sciences, University of Lagos (UNILAG), where she declared that stronger collaboration among government, industry and academia is the master key to unlocking Nigeria’s vast mineral wealth.
Delivering the keynote lecture titled Building Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Future: The Power of Academia, Government and Industry in Partnership, she lamented that despite Nigeria’s deposits of more than 44 commercially viable minerals spread across over 500 locations, the industry still contributes less than one per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
She, however, said the story is changing under the Seven-Point Agenda of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, with reforms already repositioning mining as a major driver of economic growth.
The SMDF boss also unveiled the Early-Stage Mineral Exploration and Research Grant Endowment (EMERGE), describing it as Nigeria’s first competitive research funding platform dedicated to geoscience studies in universities.
According to her, the initiative will fund mineral exploration, critical minerals research and postgraduate studies, while equipping successful applicants with technical training and access to investment opportunities.
She challenged UNILAG researchers to seize the opportunity by submitting quality proposals, insisting that research remains the foundation for building a globally competitive mining industry.
Mrs Shinkafi then urged young women to embrace careers in science and mining, stressing that Nigeria’s hidden mineral wealth can only be fully unlocked through the innovation, skills and determination of the next generation.
