By Akanimo Sampson, Abuja/
A strategic Presidential Villa insider told NewsmakersNG on Monday that President Muhammadu Buhari was setting his eyes on massive job-creation targets in a bid to resolve the growing unemployment problem in Nigeria.
The unemployment rate in Nigeria increased to 18.80 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 from 16.20 per cent in the second quarter. Nigeria’s youth—a majority in the country where the median age is 21—are the most affected.
Experts say the country’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan requires billions of dollars of investment to deliver on its growth and job-creation targets.
To this end, President Buhari is seen as showing a willingness to collaborate with the private sector and the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) by targeting opportunity-driven entrepreneurs, upgrading skills, developing business clusters and economic corridors. These are critical factors to developing a buoyant and productive industrial sector in Nigeria.
Going by a projection made by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the country’s infrastructure financing needs “will grow to $3.00 trillion in the next 26 years”. This projection was made in Abuja during the AIF roadshow organised by the Bank. AfDB is planning to help Nigeria bridge its infrastructure gap.
Special Advisor to President Buhari and Coordinator of the country’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) Unit, Folarin Ayalande pointed out that Nigeria is ready for investments but lack of affordable and long-term finance remains a major constraint.
He described the lending de-risking component of AIF as a game changer and assured the support of the Nigerian government, adding that ‘’new approaches are required to deliver on the country’s development targets, with a focus on private sector-led growth’’.
Director for Nigeria Country Office of the AfDB, Ebrima Faal had reiterated the critical need to change the current funding mix and create partnerships to finance infrastructure and other projects in Africa as Nigeria’s infrastructure cumulative financing needs are estimated to reach $ 3.00 trillion by 2044 or about $100 billion annually.
Over the last 50 years, particularly following the 2008 financial crisis, consecutive governments have been unable to meet the growing demand for infrastructure and services alone. As a result, large fiscal deficits arising from imprudent fiscal management policies have led to decreasing public expenditure on infrastructure. This has widened the infrastructure financing gap, thereby preventing the construction of much needed transformative infrastructure.
While interacting with key private players and viewing presentations from Nigeria’s senior government on the country’s development priorities and project pipeline that could benefit from the AIF partnership, AIF Senior Director, Stella Kilonzo, described the AIF as a marketplace that would bring together the Bank and other multilateral institutions to de-risk investments at scale.
It will work closely with investors and project sponsors to enable them to increase trade and investment in local and global markets, ensuring that projects are able to secure adequate and appropriate finance.
Among the projects that have been selected in Nigeria by the AfDB for funding through the new mechanism are Santa Clara Medical Facility, a state-of-the-art medical facility comprising an ultra-modern referral 150 bed private hospital and two separate 10 bed primary healthcare clinics situated in two different locations within Lagos, the Eko Atlantic City project also in Lagos, the Abuja Integrated Infrastructure Project, otherwise referred to as the Satellite towns and the Bus Rapid Transit.
AfDB and Nigeria have a long-standing relationship that dates back to 1976 when the Nigeria Trust Fund(NTF), a self-sustaining revolving fund, was created by an agreement between the Bank Group and the Nigerian Government.
In 2016, the President of the Bank, Dr Akinwunmi Adeshina said the bank was working on giving the country loan facilities of $4.1 billion for critical sectors of the economy over a period of two years. The loan included $1.00 billion at a concessionary rate of 1.2 per cent which was used to address the 2016 budget deficit and helped the country’s economic recovery as it grappled with its first recession in more than 20 years.
AIF is a platform created by the AfDB to mobilise private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds and the private sector to facilitate infrastructure projects in Africa. It is set to hold its inaugural edition from November 7-9, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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