General
Nigeria to Fast Track SAPZ Programme
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has expressed its commitment to accelerate the implementation of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) project in the country.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Abubarka Kyari, said this at the SAPZ Phase II Inception Workshop on Wednesday in Abuja, noting that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is determined to give unprecedented attention to agriculture and food security.
“We are determined to fast-track Phase I and Phase II of this project to unlock the opportunities for food security, and job security and increase the contribution of the sector to the GDP.
“SAPZ has come to stay. All hands must therefore be on deck to ensure a successful implementation of the programme in Nigeria,” Mr Kyari said.
According to the Minister, the project is designed to diversify the country’s economy by changing agriculture to become a profitable economic venture.
He said it would provide a win-win scenario for investors, government and citizens, adding that it was open for more collaboration from investors.
The Minister then pledged the commitment of the government to work with the states and private sector to mobilise resources for the implementation of the project.
On his part, the Director-General of the Nigeria Country Department of AfDB, Mr Lamin Barrow, said the SAPZ sought to promote the development of a value chain for strategic commodities in Nigeria and across Africa.
“They will provide world-class infrastructure to support food agribusinesses to locate close to zones of production and develop competitive value chains supported by logistic systems that will drive food processing and value addition.
“The SAPZs will help create massive wealth and jobs in rural areas and turn rural areas away from being zones of economic misery to zones of economic prosperity,” he said
According to Mr Barrow, AfDB is developing SAPZs in 11 African countries. One each in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Madagascar, Senegal, and Togo, and four in Ethiopia.
He said that the SAPZ programme in Nigeria was the largest, both in scale and scope as phase 1 is currently being implemented over five years in seven states.
He said the states included Cross River, Imo Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Ogun and Oyo, adding that the states were chosen based on readiness and to achieve a balance across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones.
According to him, there has been a growing interest and enthusiasm from both the Government and private sector players in the Phase II of the SAPZ Programme.
“So far, the Bank has received Expression of Interest (EOI) from no fewer than 23 States across the six geo-political zones in the country. “The States are: Lagos, Anambra, Benue, Ekiti, Delta, Gombe, Ondo, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Enugu, Osun, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba and Borno.
“It is expected that at the end of the 2-Day discussion, the participating states will be screened and onboarded based on readiness and quality of entry criteria which will be deliberated upon during the workshop,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The board of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has approved a $260 million financing package for the construction of a 123-kilometre section of the Trans-Saharan Highway in Nigeria as part of more than $417 million earmarked for strategic projects across West Africa.
The approval was granted during the bank’s 99th Ordinary Session, chaired by its President, Mr George Donkor, according to a statement issued after the meeting. It was noted that the total financing will support five public and private sector projects spanning infrastructure, healthcare, housing, mining, financial resilience and regional connectivity.
EBID said the approved investments underscore its commitment to funding high-impact projects that drive economic growth, create jobs and improve living standards across the sub-region.
“The projects approved during this 99th Board Session demonstrate EBID’s unwavering commitment to financing development solutions that directly improve the lives of West African citizens.
“From clean energy and transport infrastructure to healthcare, housing and financial sector resilience, these investments will strengthen regional competitiveness and support sustainable and inclusive growth across our community,” said Mr Donkor.
That of Nigeria is to improve connectivity, facilitate trade, reduce logistics costs and support economic integration; West African CFA franc (XOF) 10 billion in a line of credit to Banque de l’Habitat de Côte d’Ivoire (BHCI) to expand housing finance and support SMEs operating across the housing and construction value chain; €80 million for the design, construction, equipment and maintenance of the 150-bed Regional Hospital of Ferkessédougou in Côte d’Ivoire under a public-private partnership;
XOF 12.82 billion (West African CFA Franc) for the renovation, operation and maintenance of the Symphonie Building in Abidjan under a public-private partnership and $47.4 million for Azumah Resources Ghana Limited to finance the procurement of long-lead process plant equipment and critical early-stage development activities for the Black Volta Gold Project.
“These approvals advance EBID’s Growth, Resilience and Optimisation (GRO) Strategy, which prioritises transformative infrastructure, human capital development, private sector growth and regional integration. Through these investments, the Bank continues to promote sustainable development and shared prosperity across West Africa,” the statement said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is targeting that solar power will account for 50 per cent of the power generation mix by 2029, according to the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
According to REA’s managing director, Mr Abba Abubakar Aliyu, solar power generation has risen dramatically in the last few years to about 20 per cent of Nigeria’s electricity supply.
He said this could further reach 50 per cent by 2029 if current deployment and private-sector partnerships continue, speaking during the just-concluded 25th Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week in Abuja on Thursday.
Mr Aliyu, during an energy panel titled Re-Engineering Africa’s Power Market – Driving Reliable Energy Systems, said solar’s share of national generation has risen rapidly, and that sustained momentum would push it toward half of the country’s power mix within the next three years.
Mr Aliyu said the growth was driven by increasing deployment and stronger collaboration with private investors.
“Solar currently constitutes 20 per cent of the nation’s total generation capacity, and with the pace of deployment we are seeing, it is closing in on 50 per cent,” he projected.
The REA chief told delegates that Nigeria was shifting from being primarily a consumer of clean-energy equipment to becoming a regional supplier of renewable technology.
He said manufacturers in the Lagos–Sagamu industrial corridor were building capacity to meet demand across West Africa.
Mr Aliyu said Lagos-made solar photovoltaic (PV) panels were already being exported to neighbouring countries.
He added that a pipeline of about 3.7 gigawatts of PV manufacturing capacity was under development to support further expansion.
“If you go to the Lagos–Sagamu axis, you will see manufacturing companies coming up,” he said.
He, however, noted that despite the rapid expansion in solar deployment and local manufacturing, he clarified that conventional gas-fired thermal plants would remain necessary to stabilise Nigeria’s electricity grid.
He joined other panellists to advocate for a dual-track investment strategy that would continue to expand solar generation and domestic manufacturing while also maintaining and upgrading gas-fired plants.
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.
