The Nigerian government has reaffirmed its commitment to unlocking the full value of national assets and attracting global capital.
This is just as the Vice President, Kashim Shettima called for an aggressive expansion of public-private partnerships to drive Nigeria’s economic ambitions.
Speaking on Thursday during the first 2026 meeting of the National Council on Privatization (NCP) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Vice President said; “the administration is focused on attracting investment and ensuring that such capital is strategically aligned with national development priorities.”
The task before us is not only to ensure that Nigeria emerges as a safe destination for private investment, but to align that investment with the governing purpose of this administration and the larger destiny of our nation,” he said.
VP Shettima stressed that Nigeria’s long-standing ambition of becoming a trillion-dollar economy would remain out of reach without a deliberate balance between public enterprise and private sector dynamism.
He noted that economic prosperity must be intentionally designed and sustained through strong institutions.
“Prosperity does not happen by accident. It goqpis designed, negotiated, protected, and sustained by institutions that understand that national assets must be deployed in the service of the people,” the VP said.
Progress
Reviewing progress made over the past year, VP Shettima highlighted key milestones across sectors such as mining, agriculture, and energy, pointing in particular to the sale of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (Eko DISCO) as a major signal of renewed investor confidence.
He attributed the growing investor interest to the policy direction and reform agenda of the administration, emphasising that credibility, consistency, and clarity remain the strongest drivers of capital inflows.
“Investors do not respond to rhetoric alone. They respond to coherence, to clarity, and to the evidence that a country knows where it is going and has the courage to stay the course,” VP Shettima said.
The Vice President also commended improvements within the privatization framework, particularly the enhanced governance processes and timely completion of audit reports, describing institutional discipline as critical to building trust.
He urged the Council to accelerate the development of a robust pipeline of bankable projects and deepen the use of public-private partnerships as a central tool for economic expansion.
“We must accelerate the work of building a pipeline of bankable projects and of executing more public-private partnership transactions to support our economic targets,” he said
VP Shettima further emphasided the importance of post-privatization oversight, urging stricter monitoring to ensure that privatized assets deliver on their contractual obligations and contribute meaningfully to national development.
The Vice President warned against policy inconsistencies within government institutions, noting that overlapping mandates and unclear roles could undermine investor confidence and slow reform progress.
Shedding light on the outcome of the meeting, the Director General of Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), Mr. Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi, said he updated the Council on the progress made with the distribution sector recovery programme, an initiative financed by the World Bank to the tune of $500 million.
Mr Gbeleyi explained that a major component of the programme is the procurement of about 3.22 million prepaid meters for Nigerians to bridge the metering gap that is currently estimated at about 5.6 million.
He noted that the effort of the Bureau is to complement President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s effort in terms of repositioning the economy, pivoting it towards a US$1 trillion gross domestic product economy in the near term.
The Director General further noted that the BPE has made sure its audited financial statements are up to date in line with global practices and the requirements of the Public Enterprises Act 1999.