The federal government of Nigeria has declared intentions to raise a maximum of $10 billion as part of immediate preparations to bolster the value of the naira and add liquidity to the foreign exchange market.
At the Ministry of Finance Incorporated’s (MOFI) first Public Wealth Management Conference on Tuesday in Abuja, President Tinubu made this revelation.
“Most recently, the Nigerian Federal Government established a target of raising $10 billion or more to boost foreign exchange liquidity—a necessary component for stabilizing the value of the naira and fostering economic growth.”
“The central idea behind these objectives is that we need to be able to mobilize resources to accomplish them quickly,” Vice President Kashm Shettima, who was Tinubu’s representative at the event, said.
In his keynote speech, he stated that the administration’s eight-point agenda, which placed a strong emphasis on economic revitalization, had set the groundwork for renewed progress. A key component of this agenda is making sure that the Federal Government’s investments and assets are managed as efficiently as possible to maximize their revenue potential.
He noted that part of this goal was to raise the GDP base to $1 trillion and quadruple GDP growth from 3.5% to 7%.
According to him, this agenda is centered around three main priorities: first, boosting economic growth through investments in important industries like manufacturing, agriculture, and technology; second, trying to create more jobs for Nigerians, especially women and young people; and third, drawing in more foreign capital to support the nation’s growth and development.
However, identifying, counting, rationalizing, and optimizing the Federal Government’s investment assets to guarantee that they provide the most possible value for Nigerians is one low-hanging fruit that the government can use to quickly mobilize planned resources.
Nigeria has enormous and varied public wealth that includes everything from our energy and financial resources to our infrastructure and real estate holdings.
These assets, which span the entire length and breadth of our magnificent country, from the busy metropolis to the rural countryside and beyond, are valued at trillions of naira.
Unfortunately, the government has lacked accurate records or a consolidated register of these assets for decades, leaving them dispersed across hundreds of agencies. This has led to gross underutilization, poor management, and lost revenue totaling trillions of dollars that could have been invested in development.
However, the president expressed optimism that a new chapter centered on effectively utilizing our public resources for prosperity has been presented by MOFI’s restructuring and reinvigorated mandate.
He claims that MOFI is now at the core of the nation’s economic growth agenda because of its position as the steward and active manager of Federal Government investments.
“I am certain that public assets will now yield much higher returns through channels like enhanced corporate governance, creative private collaborations, and drawing alternative investment capital—all made possible by MOFI’s experience, transparency, and accountability.”
“Increased profits from public businesses will finance essential projects that will help millions of people escape poverty, like roads, electricity, housing, healthcare, and education. To optimize employment creation for our youth, we will encourage sectors with high growth multipliers,” the president promised.
However, he pointed out that the MOFI mandate is more about optimizing public asset performance than it is about raising government revenue. This will, in turn, catalyze inclusive sustainable growth that brings prosperity and jobs to the region and increase desperately needed funding for essential enablers such as housing, healthcare, transportation, and electricity.
He went on to exhort all parties involved to work cooperatively with MOFI to maximize the performance of our strategic assets and realize Nigeria’s full potential.
