IsDB 2025: Nigeria is Open to the World for Investment, Says Finance Minister

•Says youth empowerment, Infrastructure, social security high priority areas of govt

•Panel focuses on diversification strategies adopted by member countries to enhance resilience

Sunday Okobi in Algiers

The Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, has invited investors from across the globe to come and invest in Nigeria, “because the government has created a conducive environment and massively reformed all the sectors for investments.”

The minister stated this yesterday during a panel session tagged: ‘Towards Resilient Economies: Diversification Strategies for Sustainable Development in IsDB Member Countries’, at the ongoing Islamic Development Bank Annual Meetings taking place in Algiers, Algeria.

Edun, who was represented by the Director of International Economic Relations in the ministry, Mr. George Stanley, told the private sector investors at the meeting that “we are open to the world. You could move your resources and move them out at any time, no capital control. The economy has already taken off, and we invite everybody around the world to come and invest in the Nigeria economy.”

He stated that President Bola Tinubu has passion for youth development and private sector skills, “so his policies on economic transformation are anchored ICT, youth development, infrastructure, entertainment, and creative industry, having the demography of the country in mind. “First of all, skill development and ICT remain the backbone of the economy, using youth engagement to turn around the economy. In that regard, he appointed a handsome and hardworking Minister of ICT and Digital Economy who is doing everything humanly possible to change the landscape in terms of access to ICT. We believe that skill development is the main game changer.

“We are aware of the benefits if the youths are directly participating in building the economy, and that is why the reform is taking place frequently so that we can bring in direct foreign investments where the youths can have gainful employment. Consequently, that’s why as soon as the government came in, it undertook various reforms. These reforms are especially to crowd in the private sector, for instance, build an enhanced competition in the sector.”

He added that there were ongoing reforms that took place in the monetary, foreign and petroleum sectors that can usher in investments through the private sector, especially the petroleum sector.

According to the minister, “Apart from the reset of different policies, the president focuses on infrastructure, which remains a key priority of the government. The youths cannot be gainfully employed where there is no energy, and when the logistics sector is zero; so the president decided to embark massively on road construction. For instance, there’s a major Lagos-Calabar coastal rail line and expressway, which is over 2000 km.

“The idea is to make sure it opens up the entire space because food and other productions taking place in rural areas in the country need to be mobilized. There is also a massive investment in the rail sector in Nigeria.”

Edun noted that social security is also another area of high priority for the government, “because of the backlash of the reforms that have taken place. For instance, as a result of the reforms, inflation has an uptick, and the government has to make sure that cash transfers are made to ameliorate it. Also, we can’t be talking about the youths alone without considering the vulnerable population. This is to make sure that all aspects of social vices are removed from the system. There is also massive investment in the security sector. One of the issues mentioned earlier is fragility. Currently, there is a robust security and national architecture to reduce all kinds of fragility in the entire space because if the youths are idle, they can be attracted to fragility. So, President Tinubu is well-focused on these areas. Another area that is massively invested in to engage the youths is the creative industry. Globally, everyone knows that Nigeria is the leader in the creative and entertainment industry. So the government has taken bold steps, with the help of the IsDB, African Development Bank, and others, to engage and get some resources to invest massively in the youths so that they can enrich their skills in the creative industry.

“I am sure, in terms of revenue inflow, that Nollywood is doing massively well globally. Everyone knows that Nigerian youths are gainfully engaged in the area of creativity and the entertainment industry. Nigerian films are watched in all parts of the world. “For the youths to be engaged and gainfully employed, all efforts are being made towards a reversal of flow from migration to further strengthen youth empowerment in the country.”

Meanwhile, other discussants at the session focused on diversification strategies adopted by member countries to enhance resilience while ensuring transition pathways are just and inclusive.

The session also featured the launch of the IsDB 2025 Resilience Report, which analyzes the nexus between climate change and conflict.

The major focus of the session was that: “Many IsDB member countries are commodity-dependent, with exports of food, raw materials, minerals, and energy resources forming the backbone of their economies.

“This dependence makes them vulnerable to economic shocks from climate change, health crises, and conflicts, leading to unstable growth. Fragile and conflict-affected countries face even greater challenges due to damaged infrastructure and weak institutions, hampering service delivery and economic development. “Therefore, efforts to diversity economies are underway through horizontal and vertical diversification, investment in manufacturing clusters, and human skills development.

“Diversification is also a critical strategy for managing the socio-economic impacts of climate mitigation policies under countries’ long-term climate strategies.

“To discuss these challenges, RCA therefore proposed a high-level plenary session at the 2025 IsDB Annual Meetings. The session was, therefore, intensively focused on diversification strategies adopted by member countries to enhance resilience while ensuring transition pathways are just and inclusive.”