The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has assured investors that the most auspicious and convenient time to choose Nigeria as an investment destination is now, saying the nation has exited its phase of economic instability.
He attributed the milestone to the decision made by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to get rid of the hurdles that had hitherto clogged the wheels of the country’s economic progress.
Speaking on Wednesday in Bauchi State, while declaring open the Bauchi Investment Summit 2025, Senator Shettima, in a statement.
His spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, noted that the administration assumed office in 2023 with a promise to turn around the fortunes of the nation’s economy, which was already tottering on the edge of financial crisis, with the debt service-to-revenue ratio shooting up to about 100 percent.
He told investors and stakeholders at the two-day summit that under the Tinubu administration, the debt service-to-revenue ratio has been reduced to less than 50 per cent, while GDP growth stood at 4.23 percent as of last month.
“Our non-oil revenues grew by 411 per cent year-on-year in the same month. Our tax-to-GDP ratio now stands at 13.5 per cent, up from barely 7 per cent a few years ago. Our debt-to-GDP ratio remains at 38.8 per cent, far below the limits set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act at 60 per cent, and those of ECOWAS and the World Bank at 70 per cent.
“Our external reserves have grown to 43 billion dollars as of September 2025. Nigeria has exited its phase of economic instability, and I assure investors present here that there is no better time to choose Nigeria,” the Vice President stated.
VP Shettima explained why President Tinubu’s first decision was to remove those obstacles that had become termites in the timber of the nation’s progress: “You cannot guarantee enduring growth without stability.
“Our predecessors are here to testify to this truth. Each of them endured a fair share of obstacles and pushbacks in their efforts to introduce reforms that set the nation on the path of rediscovery and stability.”
Senator Shettima observed that no system can claim to be suitable for business if it cannot predict the outcome of its investment, maintaining that there can’t be a more potent treatment for a bad economy than a stable economic stimulus, which is why the Tinubu administration embarked on bold reforms.
He continued, “It was this dread that inspired our bold reforms to harmonise the exchange rate regime and to dismantle the fuel subsidy structure, an avenue that had become a theatre for round-tripping and rent-seeking, where the privileged few converted the nation’s collective patrimony into their private poverty alleviation scheme.”
“We may spend eternity debating the theories of our inactions, but the truth remains that nobody builds a house in a tsunami.”
The Vice President listed priorities in the administration’s development plan to include job creation, food security, value-chain development, and the unlocking of subnational comparative advantages, even as he pointed out that the plan “is anchored on promises that can only be realised when” stability is achieved.
According to him, these priorities are inherently rooted in the investment opportunities Bauchi State offers, including “vast arable land and agricultural potential, abundant solid minerals, tourism and game reserves, renewable energy prospects, and improving infrastructure and business-enabling reforms.
“The Federal Government remains resolute in its commitment to ensuring security across the nation because no economy can thrive where fear replaces freedom and insecurity undermines enterprise,” he added.
Senator Shettima said Bauchi State can spearhead “climate-smart agriculture, commercial outgrower schemes, and agro-processing hubs linked to national and export markets” with its vast arable land and livestock, among other rich natural resources and cultural heritage that can boost tourism, hospitality, and the creative industries.
“The solid mineral reserves of this rich state can also enable responsible mining and downstream industrialisation through transparent tendering, geological mapping, and community benefit frameworks.
“Bauchi’s natural assets and cultural heritage can boost tourism, hospitality, and the creative industries, while its renewable energy and gas potential can power industrial clusters through public-private partnerships and off-grid solutions,” he maintained.
Applauding Governor Bala Mohammed’s vision for opening Bauchi State to investment, VP Shettima reaffirmed President Tinubu’s promise that under his watch, the Federal Government will treat “each state as a priority beyond the fiscal glories that accrue from the increased allocations now enjoyed across the federation.”
“This is so because an affliction to any state slows down the pace of development in other parts of the nation, and this is the burden of federalism that we must never allow to slow us down. We must either grow together or falter apart,” he added.
Declaring the summit open, the VP charged participants and stakeholders “to move beyond talk and commit to concrete memoranda of understanding, set timelines, and appoint joint implementation teams,” to ensure tangible milestones in project execution, insisting that programmes and projects “must align with social and environmental sustainability considerations.”
For his part, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said that while the summit indicates hope for Nigeria, partnerships are needed to strengthen businesses.
He outlined what he termed the five Ps—politics, People, Protection, Partnership, and Progress—describing them as the bedrock of good investment. He also expressed worry over the cement situation in Nigeria, calling for more action to strengthen the cement industry.
“Governance must be right because it’s about the people and there must be protection (security), or investors will not come. There must be strong partnership at the local, community, state, and national levels, as well as the civil society, with the public and private sectors. We need partnership,” he stressed.
For his part, Governor Mohammed thanked the Vice President for always identifying with the state and assured participants and the people of Bauchi State that the recommendations reached at the summit would be implemented.
The Governor hailed the federal government for establishing the North-East Development Commission (NEDC), which he said is driving development across the region’s six states.
He also assured investors of the safety of their lives and businesses in Bauchi, saying, “We will also utilize partnership and fight corruption to enable businesses to thrive in our state.”
Also, Prof. Babagana Zulum, Chairman of the North East Governors’ Forum and Borno State Governor, commended Governor Mohammed for convening the summit, saying Bauchi State’s agricultural potential is the bedrock of its development.
Urging investors to tap into the available resources as they invest in the state, Zulum said, “Northerners are hospitable. Mineral resources and hydrocarbons are also found here in large quantities. I believe investors will have the opportunity to play around for our future development. There is ease of doing business in Bauchi and the entire North; come and do business here.”
Delivering the keynote address, Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, former Head of Civil Service of the Federation, noted that while leadership is about creating room for others to grow, the current global challenges require serious attention and action.
The erstwhile Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) identified education, good governance, and human capital development as the foundations of development at all times, positing that public-private Partnerships (PPP) and collaboration between the federal and State governments would help boost development.
In his remarks, the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Abubakar Sa’ad III, regretted that while he had attended a good number of summits in the country, most of them ended with little commitment to implementing resolutions.
“What have we achieved? Have we really achieved the goals of such summits? I want to challenge the Governors of Northern states on this. Have we really moved our states and the North forward? I want to challenge all of us to really look inwards. Nobody can take us out of these economic challenges except ourselves. The North has everything needed for development,” he said.
The royal father applauded Vice President Shettima’s unflinching support for President Tinubu in leading Nigeria, just as he had always pledged the support of religious and traditional leaders.
Stressing the need for adequate security, the Sultan said, “Our support is unwavering. But whatever you do, if there’s no security, you can’t really achieve anything,” appealing to all Nigerians to love their country and pray for their leaders instead of cursing them.
Other dignitaries in attendance include representatives of the Governors of Oyo, Gombe, Bayelsa and Jigawa States; former military administrators of Bauchi State, Chris Abutu Garuba and Raji Adisa, and Chairman/Founder of Oriental Energy Resources, Alhaji Mohammad Indimi, among others.
