Economic Transformation: Nigeria shifts from Costly Foreign Debt to Private Capital<\/p>\n
The Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has said that Nigeria is deliberately moving from expensive external borrowing to a growth model anchored on private capital and domestic reforms.<\/p>\n
The Minister stated this in Abuja during the opening session of the G-24 Technical Group Meeting with the theme: \u201cMobilizing Finance to promote sustainable, Inclusive, and Job – Rich Economic Transformation\u201d<\/p>\n
Delivering a keynote address on the global economy and the need for stronger South-South cooperation, Edun said \u201cNigeria is deliberately shifting away from a model overly reliant on expensive external borrowing toward a more resilient growth framework powered by domestic reforms, private capital, and diversified financing instruments,\u201d<\/p>\n
He explained that the new approach was in line with evolving global development finance priorities that emphasis innovative financing, blended instruments and expanded concessional windows, adding that Nigeria is targeting an average medium-term growth of seven per cent, which would require raising the investment-to-GDP ratio to at least 30 per cent.<\/p>\n
In a statement by Amadi Uloma, Finance Ministry’s Asst Director (Information and Public Relations), the Minister disclosed that “With the current public sector\u2019s financing capacity at roughly 5 per cent of GDP, the strategy emphasizes attracting private capital through structured PPPs, optimizing public assets, and creating bankable, de-risked investment opportunities.”<\/p>\n
Edun noted that Nigeria\u2019s reform programme under President Bola Tinubu\u2019s administration was anchored on a three-phase agenda of market correction, stabilization and growth acceleration, reiterating that over the past two years, the administration had implemented \u201cbold, politically difficult but necessary reforms aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability,\u201d adding that the measures has laid the groundwork for a more competitive and resilient economy.<\/p>\n
He highlighted that early outcomes of the reforms were becoming evident, with investor sentiment gradually recovering and significant capital commitments returning to the country.
\n\u201cThe reform path has attracted global recognition, and investor sentiment is steadily recovering.”<\/p>\n
Edun described the current global environment as one defined by fragmentation, geopolitical rivalry and weakening multilateral institutions, warning that deepening geoeconomic confrontation could reduce global output by two percentage points and shrink global trade by 2.3 per cent, emphasizing that emerging markets and developing economies were particularly vulnerable.<\/p>\n
He added that over a quarter of them had already lost access to international capital markets, while more than half of low-income countries were in or approaching debt distress.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough broad-based tax reforms, implementation of a modernized tax law, and improvements in compliance and automation, including the National Single Window initiative, Nigeria is set to raise its tax-to-GDP ratio to 18 per cent in the medium term” the Minister said<\/p>\n
Edun stressed that the era of waiting for external capital flows to drive development was over, urging countries in the Global South to strengthen collaboration, emphasizing that \u201cThe era of waiting for trickle-down prosperity from the North has passed. The future belongs to regions that collaborate, innovate, and integrate with purpose,\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Minister called on members of the G-24 to advocate reforms of the global financial architecture, including strengthening the IMF\u2019s global financial safety net, expanding concessional lending by multilateral development banks and prioritizing local currency financing.<\/p>\n
According to him, such reforms are critical to support countries that have lost access to international capital markets and to close the widening Sustainable Development Goals financing gap.<\/p>\n
He urged G-24 members to use the meeting to harmonize their positions and present a unified voice in shaping a more inclusive and resilient global financial system.<\/p>\n
In a keynote address, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso emphasized on the critical challenges facing the global economy and how emerging economies can leverage policy coordination, mutual trade and investment to build resilience.<\/p>\n
He also explained the need for urgent reforms in digital cross-border payment systems and how it can be harnessed to promote and drive inclusive growth as well as strengthen global financial stability.<\/p>\n
While highlighting Nigeria’s efforts to modernize its regulatory and supervisory frameworks, including strengthening oversight of payment infrastructure providers and enhancing anti-money laundering measures, Cardoso stressed the importance of transparency, credibility, and cooperation among African nations to build resilient financial systems.<\/p>\n
Earlier, in her opening remarks, Director and Head of Secretariat of the G-24, Dr Iyabo Masha, stated that the global economy was experiencing \u201cmeasured resilience but constrained ambition,\u201d warning that emerging market and developing economies must move beyond recovery to restore sustainable growth paths.<\/p>\n
She said that although inflation had moderated in some economies and supply disruptions had eased, \u201cresilience is not the same as robustness,\u201d noting that global conditions remained fragile.<\/p>\n
Masha added that global merchandise trade growth for 2026 was projected at just 0.5 per cent, reflecting the cumulative impact of tariffs and policy uncertainty, noting that the development would weaken external demand and slow technology diffusion.<\/p>\n
She urged policymakers to strengthen fiscal and monetary frameworks, expand domestic resource mobilisation, prioritise climate adaptation and human capital development, and deepen regional trade and investment partnerships.<\/p>\n
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Economic Transformation: Nigeria shifts from Costly Foreign Debt to Private Capital The Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has said that Nigeria is deliberately moving from expensive external borrowing to a growth model anchored on private capital and domestic reforms. The Minister stated this in Abuja during the opening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":150091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,5,18],"tags":[2782,1704,1821,2783],"class_list":{"0":"post-150085","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"category-finance","9":"category-news","10":"tag-foreign-debt","11":"tag-hm-edun","12":"tag-olayemi-cardoso","13":"tag-private-capital"},"yoast_head":"\n