By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has met with the management of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to negotiate a multi-billion Dollar funding package for infrastructure at the federal and sub-national levels in Nigeria.
The President, who is in Saudi Arabia, advanced negotiations concerning an infrastructure finance facility from the Jeddah-headquartered bank to fund a multi-sectoral portfolio of infrastructure projects in the country following investment discussions held between President Tinubu and the Vice-President (Country Programmes) of the Islamic Development Bank, Mr Mansur Muhtar.
According to Mr Tinubu, previous governments like his ally, former President Muhammadu Buhari, handed him liabilities and this was necessary to be fixed.
“We have serious deficits in port infrastructure, power infrastructure, and agro-allied facilities that will enable sustainable food security in our country. These deficits present an unrivalled opportunity for savvy investors in a market that is by far the largest on the continent. Yes, we had the vision to enable Lekki Deep Seaport before others saw it. We must be bold again.”
“We inherited serious liabilities, but also assets from our predecessors. We do not make any excuses. There are several sectors replete with investment opportunities for smart investors. Access to finance and guarantees can be a hindrance in some cases. You can come in there. We see you as a critical enabler. You have partnered with us before. We want to scale it up now and do much more with greater ambition and clear vision,” the President added, according to a statement by Mr Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and publicity.
In his response, the Vice-President of the IsDB, Mr Muhtar said the financial world has been monitoring events in Nigeria and has concluded that Africa’s largest economy means business this time.
“We know you inherited a very tough set of circumstances. It is to your credit that you have taken very bold steps without delay. We are ready to work with you. We are ready to support big investments in Nigeria. We agree that if Nigeria succeeds, Africa will succeed. And the world needs Africa to succeed.”
“The Islamic Development Bank President announced the provision of $50 billion of new investment for the African continent from the Arab Coordination Group (ACG). This was announced at the Saudi-Arab-African Economic Summit.
“As the largest market and the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria will certainly receive a significant share. We look forward to supporting Nigeria’s economic transformation,” the IsDB Vice-President said.
