Vice President Kashim Shettima has showcased Nigeria’s 200-billion-dollar energy transition opportunity to investors, emphasising the need for “partnerships” to maximise the multi-faceted, multi-billion investment opportunities across the country.
This comes as Shettima highlighted that Nigeria’s sovereign rating by platforms like Fitch and Moody’s implies the country was positioned as the natural hub for the African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) 3.4 trillion-dollar market.
He seized the moment to draw the attention of investors worldwide to the multi-billion, multi-faceted economic resets across Nigeria, as embodied by President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
VP Shettima, in a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, stated this at the Roundtable hosted by the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), with the theme “Risk, Reform, Return,” held on the margins of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City on Monday.
The VP, representing President Bola Tinubu at UNGA80, highlighted that in this interconnected age, the wealth of any nation is neither achieved through miracles nor inherited.
Showcasing the wealth of the nation, he began by saying that Nigeria is West Africa’s largest economy and Africa’s largest consumer market, with 236 million people today, projected to reach 320 million by 2040.
Beyond being a demographic giant, Shettima pointed out that with a median age of about 17, more than 58 percent of whom are under 30, Nigeria is home to one of the deepest talent pools in the world.
“When you add to this our geographic position as a natural hub for trade between Africa, the Americas, and Asia; our 44 distinct natural resources; our five tech unicorns; the largest oil reserves in Africa; and 210 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, you see that Naija no dey carry last,” he added.
The Vice President told the global audience that since mid-2023, under His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigeria has embarked on one of the boldest economic resets in its history.
He cited the unification of Nigeria’s exchange rates, the removal of decades-old fuel subsidies that distorted the Nigerian economy, the modernization of Nigeria’s tax and customs regimes, strengthened fiscal oversight, and the overhaul of Nigeria’s trade and investment policies as shining examples of the Renewed Hope reforms.
The VP continued, “This reset includes full implementation of the AfCFTA, the roll-out of a National Single Window for trade, a new Investment and Securities Act, an upgraded PPP framework, and modernized bilateral investment treaties.
“The results are already visible. Our GDP growth is accelerating, our external reserves are strengthening, and inflation is moderating. This is why investor commitments are also rebounding.”
Stressing Nigeria’s vast economic transformation and potential, the VP recalled that in April, Fitch upgraded Nigeria’s sovereign rating to B with a stable outlook, and Moody’s lifted its issuer rating to B3 with a stable outlook.
He highlighted that the two rating platforms cited Nigeria’s improved buffers and clearer policy direction as their barometer, adding that “This positions Nigeria as the natural hub for the AfCFTA’s 3.4 trillion-dollar market.”
“We have also built a four-pillar incentives framework designed to reduce investor risk, accelerate cash returns, and make Nigeria one of the most competitive destinations for capital in the Global South.
“A simpler, predictable tax regime now offers clear capital allowances, research and development deductions, and export-linked rebates, while investors in priority sectors can achieve faster breakeven through five percent annual tax credits on qualifying capital expenditure,” he highlighted.
He also shared with the audience that in Nigeria’s Special Economic Zones, the federal government offers duty-free imports, rent concessions, rebates on non-oil export proceeds, and integrated logistics platforms that unlock working capital for exporters.
“Cross-border protections now include updated bilateral investment treaties, investor promotion and protection agreements, structured repatriation pathways, and streamlined FX access. These give investors confidence that their capital and profits are protected,” he said.
The Vice President added that the nation’s Special Agro-Industrial Zones are reducing post-harvest losses by up to forty percent and linking farmers directly to processing and export hubs, transforming Nigeria from a fragmented producer into a continent-scale food system serving millions across West Africa.
On energy, the Vice President disclosed that “With 210 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and one of the highest solar irradiation levels in Africa, Nigeria offers a 200-billion-dollar energy transition opportunity.”
He stressed that fiscal incentives and VAT waivers are de-risking investment in both traditional and renewable power assets, from gas-fired independent power plants to off-grid solar and clean hydrogen pilots.
Additionally, VP Shettima noted that while Nigeria faces a one-billion-dollar annual gap in transport, ports, and power infrastructure, through InfraCorp and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, the government is blending sovereign and private finance to fund metro lines, dry ports, and industrial corridors, building the backbone of West African trade and creating long-term revenue streams for investors.
“Special Economic Zone clusters now host over five billion dollars in installed industrial capacity, with backward-integration incentives and AfCFTA corridors opening a multi-billion-dollar continental market.
“These reforms are transforming Nigeria into Africa’s production floor and innovation lab,” he added.
The Vice President maintained that Nigeria hosts forty-four commercially viable minerals worth over seven hundred billion dollars under a new beneficiation and security regime.
He said investors can secure early positions in lithium, gold, bitumen, and rare earths critical to the global green transition.
Furthermore, he highlighted that Nigeria accounts for twenty-nine percent of Africa’s internet usage, has raised over two billion dollars in venture funding, and is training three million new tech talents.
This, according to him, is Africa’s fastest-scaling digital hub—fintech, AI, cloud services, and broadband rollout at continental scale.
“Our creative economy is a fifteen-billion-dollar industry projected to reach one hundred billion dollars by 2030,” he added.
He also stressed that Nigeria’s entertainment hubs, especially Nollywood, Afrobeats, gaming, animation, and fashion, are expanding under incentives for IP protection and creative hubs that consolidate Nigeria’s place as the cultural superpower of the Global South.
“Healthcare, already an eighteen-billion-dollar sector, is strengthened by Executive Orders on local manufacturing, a 1.57-billion-dollar World Bank primary health care programme, and specialist centres built by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority,” the Vice President stated.
Earlier, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olajumoke Oduwole, said since May 2023, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigeria has embarked on one of the boldest economic reset in its history, adding that the administration unified the nation’s exchange rate, removed fuel subsidy, modernised it’s taxs and customs regimes and strengthen fiscal oversight.
Oduwole added that President Tinubu also overhauled the nation’s trade and investment policy which includes full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, a National Single Window Project for trade facilitation, a new Investment and Security Act and Upgraded Public Private Partnership Framework and modernised Bilateral Investment Treaties.
According to her, the impact of President Tinubu’s administration’s reforms are already visible, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Growth is accelerating, external reserves are strengthening, inflation is moderating and investment commitment are rebounding.
” In April, Fitch upgraded Nigeria’s Sovereign Rating to B, which is stable and Moody’s lifted to it issuance rating to B3, which is stable also.
” Now citing improve bumpers and clear policy directions which is important since then these reforms began, there is over about 50 billion dollars in investment interest and announcement that have been track across key sectors, ” the Minister said.
Earlier in the day, Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was at the United Nations General Assembly Hall at the United Nations Headquarters for the High-Level meeting commemorating the 80th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly.
The event featured a three-minute address by President Tinubu, during which he celebrated the spirit and successes of the United Nations, praising its legacy of peace, protection of human dignity, and entrenchment of developmental goals.
The Vice President was joined by Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani; Minister for Solid Minerals Development, Mr. Dele Alake; Minister for Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa; Women Affairs Minister, Iman Suleiman-Ibrahim; as well as some officials of the Nigerian Mission in New York.
