Nigeria says it is ready to lead, collaborate, and deliver Africa’s development agenda.
Vice President, Kashim Shettima, made the pledge at the 32nd Africa Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM Bank) Annual General Meeting in Abuja, with the theme “Building the Future on Decades of Resilience.”
Represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs in the Office of the Vice President, Tope Fasua, he said Nigeria will continue to work hand-in-hand with AFREXIM Bank to deepen partnerships and align more closely with Africa’s development agenda.
“We must go beyond resilience to renewal. That means mobilizing blended finance to crowd in private capital for infrastructure and green transition. That means deepening regional value chains anchored in AfCFTA and powered by scalable industrial policy. That means institutionalising digital trade systems such as PAPS and MALSA to cut costs and boost intra-African commerce. That means strengthening financial institutions like AFREXIM Bank with new capital, governance frameworks, and risk-sharing facilities. And also, that means ensuring that transformation is inclusive, reaching our youth, our SMEs, and our women entrepreneurs.”
He noted that, with the support of the Bank, Nigeria has been impacted by the transformation strides of the Bank since its inception, touching various sectors of the economy.
“AFREXIM Bank has grown from a regional trade financier into a continental development anchor. It has mobilized and disbursed more than $100 billion across Africa and over $52 billion to Nigeria—more than any other country on the continent. I’ll take the applause. It’s for the AFREXIM Bank. In Nigeria alone, AFREXIM Bank’s transformative footprint includes the African Trade Center, commissioned here in Abuja, which now serves as a nucleus for policy innovation, trade facilitation, and business intelligence.
“The African Medical Center of Excellence, which opened just weeks ago, provides world-class oncology, cardiology, and dermatology services, and reduces the over $1 billion spent annually on medical tourism. The African Quality Assurance Centers in Kaduna and Ogun States strengthen the export resilience of Nigerian products. A $300 million export manufacturing initiative, strategically located in Cross River, Enugu, Imo, and Kano States, is catalysing industrial clusters. And the pivotal $3 billion Intra-Africa Petroleum Trade Facility enhances Nigeria’s energy security and supports domestic refining capacity. These are not merely projects; they are strategic investments in resilience, in sovereignty, and in shared prosperity.”
He explained that the current administration is pursuing one of the boldest economic reform agendas in Nigeria’s history to enhance growth and build resilience.
…”Because resilience is not passive, it must be planned, built, and protected. We have unified the exchange rate, eliminating multiple FX windows to restore transparency and investor confidence. We have phased out fuel subsidies, saving billions of dollars in leakages, and reinvesting in social protection and infrastructure. We have launched a National Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Transition Plan, converting over 150,000 vehicles and reducing fuel costs and emissions. We have accelerated strategic infrastructure, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Eastern Rail Corridor, to improve regional connectivity.
“We have transformed our oil sector, introducing real-time tracking of exports and enhancing revenue assurance through the Petroleum Cargo Declaration Scheme. And we have expanded access to trade finance and restructured support to small and medium enterprises through digitized platforms and AfCFTA-aligned export development zones.”
Nigeria’s Vice President expressed confidence that the policies and programmes of the government will grow the country’s GDP to between 4% to 4.5% in 2025, with inflation stabilising around 7%.
Hauwa Abu