The Federal Executive Council has approved a $1.25 billion financing facility from the International Development Association (IDA) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to support Nigeria’s Investment and Job Acceleration Development Policy Financing.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on the decisions taken at Wednesday’s meeting of the Federal Executive Council.
Oyedele described the facility as concessional, with repayments spread over about 30 years, saying the financing would be dedicated to accelerating job creation.
“This is a concessional facility with repayments of like 30 years, which we’re going to dedicate to helping to accelerate job creation,” he said.
The minister said job creation remained a key priority for the country.
“And you would agree that if we have any priority as a country, this clearly has to be one of them,” he said.
The Council also authorised the signing of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements between Nigeria and Ghana, Tanzania and the Swiss Confederation.
Oyedele said the agreements were designed to facilitate cross-border investment by Nigerian businesses while encouraging capital inflows from the partner countries.
He noted that the treaties were particularly significant in countries where Nigeria had substantial economic interests, including Ghana.
“The overall objective of these treaties is to ensure that Nigeria can expand the opportunities available to our businesses to invest in other countries, and also for us to attract investment from those other countries, particularly where we have a lot of interest between our countries, for example, Ghana,” he said.
The minister added that the Federal Government was seeking to develop a robust tax avoidance treaty network that would allow Nigeria to compete with leading countries in Africa.
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He cited South Africa as an example, saying the country had about 60 such treaties.
“But we’re making good progress,” he said.
The financing facility and three tax treaties were among the key approvals announced by Oyedele after the Council meeting.
He added that the financing would support investment and job creation, while the tax agreements were expected to boost cross-border investment between Nigeria and Ghana, and Tanzania and Switzerland.
