Category: Business

ABUJA, NIGERIA (Agency Report), March 3, 2026 — The Federal Government and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) have signed an investment partnership to jointly fund three projects, including a 1.3 billion dollar Alumina Refinery.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, described the agreement as a landmark deal to transform mining and boost its GDP contribution.

A statement by the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, said the pact was signed on Sunday in Abuja.

Executive Secretary, Solid Minerals Development Fund, Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi, signed for the government, while Franklin Edochie, AFC Deputy Director and Head of Metals and Mining, signed for the corporation.

Other projects include a comprehensive geoscience mapping exercise and the creation of an investment vehicle to advance the initiatives.

The alumina refinery, valued at 1.3 billion dollars, will process one million tonnes of bauxite annually.

“The facility is designed for about 20 years at 95 per cent utilisation, with total alumina output projected at 19 million tonnes,” Alake said.

He said the project would be Nigeria’s largest private mining investment and a landmark foreign direct investment, contributing 1.2 billion dollars to GDP yearly.

Alake added that it would generate over 25 billion dollars for the economy across its lifecycle and eight billion dollars in foreign exchange earnings.

He commended AFC and SMDF for aligning with the ministry’s seven-point agenda through the partnership.

Alake said reforms had secured the investment climate, modernised regulations and established a world-class mineral licensing regime attracting serious private capital. “I have granted all necessary approvals to fast-track the AFC–SMDF investments.

“I have directed relevant agencies to ensure seamless processing and grant of all permits, titles and regulatory clearances for timely execution,” he said.

Initial feasibility studies by AFC and SMDF confirmed the project’s commercial viability and competitiveness.

The initiative supports the ministry’s goal of generating reliable mineral data, de-risking exploration and unlocking Nigeria’s mineral potential. 

AFC and SMDF also agreed to establish a joint strategic investment vehicle to accelerate development of identified exploration assets nationwide.

The vehicle will drive rapid exploration, development and production on selected leases following a successful exploration campaign. 

A policy group, the Independent Media and Policy Initiatives (IMPI), says President Bola Tinubu has turned around Nigeria’s economy by deploying economic tools.

The group said this in a statement issued by its Chairman, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju.

Akinsiju said that it was the best way to wean the country off decades of profligacy.

He said, like the U.S.A., Nigeria has had periods of decadent public values and the normalisation of profligacy in high offices.

“Before the economic reforms initiated by Tinubu in May 2023, the Nigerian economy was characterised by a deeply entrenched oligarchy.

“A small group of political elites, military officers, and business moguls controlled state resources.

“This structure was sustained by a patronage system, particularly in the oil sector, which benefited a select few while the majority of the population faced poverty,” he said.

Akinsiju said that the “pre-reform” economic landscape was defined by several key oligarchic and structural features.

He said that a significant portion of the oligarchy benefited from the fuel subsidy system, which was described as being rife with corruption.

“The existence of multiple exchange rate windows allowed “FX subsidy merchants” to exploit the gap between official and parallel market rates, effectively draining government finances.

“Economic power was heavily concentrated in the petroleum industry, with access to oil revenues controlled by those in power and their close associates.

“By the time Tinubu assumed office, Nigeria was spending approximately 97 per cent of its total revenue on debt servicing, a situation described as disastrous, ” he said.

Akinsiju said that data showed that Nigeria’s export profile changed significantly after 2014, resetting to a lower range that has persisted in spite of periodic recoveries.

He said that Nigeria reached a peak crude oil and gas export value of 93.89 billion dollars in 2011, the highest in the dataset.

“At this time, however, we can submit with much assertion that the Federal Government has, indeed, taken Nigeria out of the woods.

“This is evidenced by a turnaround economy that shows an indication of stability while unlocking the stranglehold of the oligarchs on the nation’s economy.

“The IMPI also identified some of the policies and programmes of the Tinubu administration that set the country on the path of economic stability,” he said.

According to him, to support our assertion of an ideology-based economic turnaround, we itemise some of the key tools of progressivism that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal administration has deployed to accomplish the present feat.

“These include fiscal policy and taxation, redistributive spending, estate and wealth taxes, labour and wealth protection, monetary and financial reforms, infrastructure development, and public investment and ownership,” he said.

Akinsiju also provided some insights into the impact of economic progressivism on the landscape.

According to him, allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in 2025 experienced a significant surge.

“The three tiers of government shared more than N33.27 trillion in the first eleven months, a 30 per cent increase over the same period in 2024.

“This growth, driven by subsidy removal and exchange rate reforms, included record monthly distributions, such as N3.64 trillion in September 2025, significantly boosting subnational revenue.

“Inflation, while still in double digits, has dropped by over half from a peak of 34.6 per cent in November 2024, to 15.10 per cent in January 2026, reflecting over nine months of consistent disinflation,” he said.

He said that the situation had largely restored real purchasing power for households and businesses, with Nigerians now reaping the benefits of the exchange rate unification.

According to him, Nigeria’s food inflation rate eased to 8.89 per cent year-on-year in January 2026.

“This marks its first single-digit reading in 128 months and the lowest level in 174 months.

” The January Consumer Price Index (CPI) report shows food inflation declined from 29.63 per cent recorded in January 2025 to 8.89 per cent in January 2026, a sharp 20.73 percentage point year-on-year drop.

“The 8.89 per cent reading is the first time food inflation has fallen below 10 per cent since May 2015, when it stood at 9.78 per cent.

“January 2026, therefore, ends a stretch of more than 10 years of persistent double-digit food inflation.

More significantly, the January figure is the lowest since August 2011, when food inflation was 8.66 per cent,” Akinsiju said. (NAN).

ENUGU, NIGERIA (NPA): Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi has announced that the roads currently being constructed under the administration of President Bola Tinubu are designed to last for up to 100 years. Umahi made this statement on February 28, 2060, during an inspection of the ongoing 107-kilometre Onitsha–Awka–Enugu Expressway.

Speaking at the project site, Umahi explained:
“The design of the project involves a first binder, a second binder, and a wearing course. If you do the primer, everything is 94,000 per square meter. We are constructing concrete roads that will last the next 100 years. If concrete can last 100 years, why should I use asphalt?”

The project, being executed under the Federal Government’s tax-credit scheme in partnership with MTN Nigeria, was initially awarded for ₦202 billion. Umahi emphasised that the shift from asphalt to concrete in road construction is a deliberate policy aimed at durability and long-term economic growth.

He expressed satisfaction with the speed and quality of work being carried out by Reynolds Construction Company (RCC), describing the expressway as President Tinubu’s “legacy project” in the Southeast.  “The quality of what the President is doing will remain a legacy. I urge the people of the Southeast to support the President’s Renewed Hope agenda. Past governments neglected this road, but President Tinubu has shown the audacity to correct this abnormal situation,” Umahi said.

According to the minister, RCC has already completed 20 kilometres of concrete pavement, with 13 kilometres remaining. The full 107-kilometre project includes reinforced concrete pavement, solar-powered streetlights, CCTV surveillance, speed monitoring systems, and security patrol vans.  “Nobody guarantees asphalt to last more than 15 years in this country, but with concrete roads under President Tinubu, we guarantee durability for up to 100 years,” he added.

Umahi further highlighted other ongoing concrete road projects across the country, including the East–West Road, Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, Trans-Saharan route, and Sokoto–Badagry corridor. He directed that the RCC/MTN Cash Credit Project be executed with inner and outer shoulders, reinforced laterals, and raised to the existing asphalt level.

While acknowledging that the project may miss its April completion deadline, Umahi stressed the importance of protecting the road from rainfall before final delivery. He urged residents of the Southeast to appreciate the administration’s efforts:  “Before now, this road was terrible, and people complained on social media. Now that it is being fixed, I encourage you to thank the President and be grateful to God. If you appreciate what has been done, more will follow. The Southeast is on the rise.”

ABUJA, NIGERIA (NPA) — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the immediate commencement of reconstruction works on three federal roads in Niger State, located in Nigeria’s north-central region.

The roads approved for reconstruction are the Mokwa–Bida Road (120 kilometres), the Mokwa–Makeri Road (63 kilometres), and the Bida–Labata Road (123.5 kilometres).

According to a statement issued on February 26, 2026, by Francis Nwaze, Senior Special Assistant to the Honourable Minister of Works (Media), the projects cover a total of 306.5 kilometers and will be reconstructed using reinforced concrete pavement to guarantee durability and long-term value.

President Tinubu also gave approval for the extension of the Bodo–Bonny Road to connect with the East–West Road. The project will be executed as a dual carriageway, constructed with concrete pavement, and equipped with solar-powered street lighting. Delivery will be through a competitive bidding process.

The Honourable Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi expressed gratitude to the president, noting that the projects will “significantly enhance connectivity, trade, and development.”

Umahi, widely regarded as one of the most dynamic members of the federal executive council, has injected fresh energy into the Tinubu-led administration by delivering on critical road infrastructure nationwide. He called on Nigerians to “acknowledge and appreciate” the president’s sustained commitment to infrastructure development across the six geopolitical zones, particularly in delivering quality roads and bridges.