The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, has clarified that Nigeria’s estimated $50bn investment figure represents announcements and commitments made by prospective investors rather than capital already deployed in the economy.
Oduwole said the Federal Government was now focused on converting the investment pledges into operational businesses, factories, jobs and other productive activities, while stressing that Nigeria would negotiate partnerships involving its critical mineral resources on terms that protect the country’s interests.
The minister spoke during an interview with ARISE NEWS, where she explained that the investment announcements were generated largely through President Bola Tinubu’s international engagements and the government’s investment promotion efforts.
She disclosed that as of January 2025, the administration had recorded about $50bn in investment announcements arising from more than 80 Memoranda of Understanding signed by ministries, departments and agencies with prospective investors and partners across countries including Brazil, France and the United Kingdom.
“As of January 2025, Mr President’s international visits and really investment promotion had yielded about $50bn in investment announcements. That’s from over 80 MOUs signed by different ministries, departments, and agencies across various countries, from Brazil to France, UK, different things.”
Oduwole acknowledged that the government’s responsibility was to ensure that such announcements progressed beyond agreements and translated into actual economic activity.
“Now, what our job is, is to make sure that those announcements are translated into real-time investments.”
She said some of the announced investments had already progressed into different stages of implementation, citing projects in fertiliser, petrochemicals, manufacturing and other sectors.
Among the examples, she identified an $8bn investment by Indorama in the fertiliser and petrochemical industries and a $1.5bn commitment by Coca-Cola.
“And so, from investments such as the IDES that I mentioned, that is now being deployed, to investments like $8bn from Indorama in fertiliser and petrochemical sector, that’s a stage investment. Coca-Cola also has invested about, they committed to $1.5bn also.”
The minister also cited the healthcare manufacturing company Vestagard as an example of an investment initiative that had progressed from discussions with the government to actual operations.
She said the company had commenced activities in Lagos free zones and was expected, when operating at full capacity, to manufacture malaria-treated nets for both the Nigerian market and export to other African countries.
“That investment, that meeting has brought fruit. They’ve started operations in Lagos free zones. At its peak, that company will be producing about 10 million malaria-treated nets that will be exported to the rest of Africa and also used within Nigeria.”
Oduwole explained that converting investment commitments into operating projects could take considerable time, particularly where the investments involved patient capital and long-term projects.
“It’s a slow process, especially slow capital. Everybody knows Nigerian capital market portfolio investors are rushing in here. It’s one of the best markets in the world right now. But slower, patient capital takes time.”
On the country’s emerging partnership with the United States on critical minerals, the minister stressed that the framework should not be interpreted as an agreement under which Nigeria would surrender ownership or control of its mineral resources.
She explained that Memoranda of Understanding and similar frameworks represented expressions of intent and provided a basis for further negotiations rather than automatically creating legally binding obligations.
“For the Critical Minerals Framework, when you sign MOUs, first of all, they are intentions. They’re not legally binding.”
According to Oduwole, Nigeria’s objective was to attract partners capable of developing complete mineral value chains within the country instead of allowing valuable resources to be extracted and exported in their raw form.
“We’ve said that we want countries and not just the US that will develop our minerals value chain, for instance, from lithium all the way to batteries right here in Nigeria.”
Responding to concerns over what Nigeria would provide the United States under the critical minerals framework, Oduwole rejected the suggestion that the country was relinquishing its mineral resources.
“We’re not giving anything. We’re not letting go of anything. And we don’t need to be afraid. And we don’t need to be reactive. We’re in the world and we have to negotiate. And we have to negotiate what matters for Nigerian businesses.”
She maintained that Nigeria had to approach mineral partnerships from a position that protected its interests while taking advantage of the international demand for critical minerals.
“So there’s nothing anybody’s going to take away from us without it being on our own terms. It’s up to us to negotiate.”
The minister said Nigeria could not afford to leave valuable critical minerals and rare earth elements unexploited or allow the sector to remain dominated by informal and artisanal mining.
“At the same time, you don’t want to leave critical minerals or rare earths in the ground or leave it to informal artisanal mining. It’s time that we formalise that sector.”
She said the government’s broader objective was to move beyond mineral extraction towards local processing and manufacturing, which would create employment and generate greater economic value in mineral-producing communities.
“It’s time that we developed and derived the benefits. It’s time that we have factories here that can deliver jobs.”
Oduwole disclosed that the Federal Government was engaging state governments, including those of Nasarawa, Zamfara, Niger and Kaduna, on opportunities arising from the development of critical minerals.
She linked formal mining operations to employment generation and said the development of the sector could provide opportunities for young people in mineral-producing communities.
“When formal mining takes place, that is jobs for arrested youth. They’ll be too tired in the evenings to do anything else than to sleep, because they’ll have jobs and they’ll be able to fend for their families.”
The minister also said the government was working with international development partners to reduce the risks associated with investments in Nigeria’s mining industry.
“With the World Bank, we’ve done some de-risking. We know what the feasibilities are. And we know now that businesses are ready to come and invest in Nigeria, in Nigerian mines, brownfield, actually.”
On the manufacturing sector, Oduwole said the government had continued to maintain direct engagement with manufacturers and other businesses to identify and resolve obstacles affecting their operations.
“And so we continue to have a direct relationship with the manufacturing sector because it’s a priority for the administration.”
She listed the government’s industrial policy, the Domestic Investors Summit and the Platinum Business Champions programme among initiatives being used to engage businesses and address their concerns.
According to her, the Domestic Investors Summit had produced quick resolutions to a significant proportion of the challenges raised by participating businesses.
“With the Domestic Investors Summit, on the spot, 75% of issues were solved. 25% of the rest were solved within five days.”
Oduwole also addressed concerns surrounding the availability of funds to the Bank of Industry, saying she was not aware of the reported controversy over alleged delays in making funds available to the institution.
“I don’t know about that controversy about funds not being made available.”
She said the Bank of Industry continued to execute its mandate of providing financing and supporting businesses, pointing to the implementation of the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme.
“I know that the Bank of Industry has continued to push on its mandate. I know, for instance, with the IDICE programme, over 600 million for creative sector, for innovation, for digital sector, that is being dispersed.”
On the administration’s ambition to grow Nigeria’s economy to $1 trillion, Oduwole said the target would require sustained work across multiple sectors rather than reliance on a single intervention.
“There’s no magic wand. We all have to do the hard work. It takes some time. But we’re focused. And you can see that we’re on track.”
She identified the services sector as an important component of the growth strategy, noting that it accounts for more than half of Nigeria’s GDP.
Oduwole said the government was particularly focused on digital skills, digital employment and remote work opportunities as part of efforts to expand the contribution of services to economic growth.
“So in disaggregating services, we’ve prioritised digital skills and digital jobs, remote jobs. And so that’s why I’ve been pushing the hire from Nigeria.”
The minister also pointed to developments in Nigeria’s international trade, including increased exports to China and efforts to expand access to markets in Africa and other parts of the world.
“We’re already dominating the rest of Africa. We’re pushing to other countries. You can see that 80 percent increase in our exports to China just in a year.”
She said major infrastructure projects being undertaken by the administration were also expected to support trade and investment by opening new transportation and commercial corridors.
“The major infrastructure projects by this administration, from the Lagos Calabar to the Sokoto-Badagry, they’re opening not just roads, they’re opening corridors of trade, corridors of enterprise, delivering jobs, even in construction.”
Oduwole said the overall objective of the government’s economic strategy was to ensure that reforms and investment translated into tangible improvements in employment, exports and economic opportunities for Nigerians.
“Those are the baselines of achieving a $1tn economy.”
ENDS
