Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has said Nigeria possesses enough domestic liquidity to address its huge infrastructure deficit, provided credible systems are established to attract and safeguard investment.
Sule made the remarks on Thursday in Abuja while presenting the keynote address at the 2026 Infrastructure Dialogue.
The event, themed “Building Nigeria’s Future: The Strategic Role of DFIs and Capital Markets in Infrastructure Financing and Economic Development,” brought together policymakers, financiers, and private sector actors.
Drawing on his experience as former Group Managing Director of Dangote Refinery, Sule argued that strong investor appetite within the country proves that significant capital already exists domestically.
“Nigeria has so much money. The easiest way to know is to look at the Dangote Refinery.
“If they decide to sell 30 per cent of a 20-billion-dollar enterprise to the capital market, that six billion dollars will be oversubscribed at least three times by PENCOM, banks and hedge funds,” he said.
He stressed that investors are less concerned about physical infrastructure and more focused on profitability, transparency, and trust.
According to him, Nasarawa State has applied the same investment logic to reposition its economy, shifting from a civil service-dependent structure to an emerging industrial base.
He noted that an executive directive requiring solid mineral companies to process raw materials locally had led to the establishment of some of Africa’s largest lithium processing facilities in the state.
“Our Internally Generated Revenue rose from N7 billion annually in 2019 to about N36 billion today.
“We did not take foreign loans because of the associated foreign exchange risks. Instead, we blocked leakages and built roads that opened up mining and agricultural corridors,” he said.
Earlier, the Convener of the dialogue and Managing Partner of Deutsche Partners Holdings, Dr. Onuoha Nnachi, estimated Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit at $30.1 trillion in 2024.
He explained that 62 percent of the gap lies in economic infrastructure, which he said can be profitably handled by the private sector.
“Budgetary provisions of the federal and state governments cannot fund this gap.
“We must allow government to focus on social infrastructure such as schools and hospitals, while the private sector drives economic infrastructure,” he said.
Nnachi also praised Nasarawa State for enacting legislation establishing an infrastructure fund with a dedicated revenue stream for long-term development planning.
Chairman of the occasion and Governor of Taraba State, Agbu Kefas, said infrastructure remains the backbone of both economic growth and social development.
He advocated a shift from sole reliance on government budgets toward blended financing models and green bonds, noting Africa’s annual infrastructure financing requirement of about $100 billion.
He was represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Prof. Nicholas Namessan.
Also speaking, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, warned that development efforts cannot succeed in an environment of insecurity.
In his words, the Nigeria Police Force is increasingly adopting technology-driven policing, including enhanced surveillance along critical infrastructure corridors, to prevent vandalism and sabotage.
The 2026 Infrastructure Dialogue focused on aligning private capital and public policy to accelerate Nigeria’s development priorities.
