Tinubu negotiates multi-billion dollar infrastructure funding with Islamic Development Bank

President Bola Tinubu, on Monday night, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, advanced negotiations concerning a multi-billion dollar infrastructure finance facility from the Islamic Development Bank to fund a multi-sectoral portfolio of infrastructure projects at the federal and sub-national levels in Nigeria.

This was disclosed in a statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.

This development was a result of substantive investment discussions held between Tinubu and Dr. Mansur Muhtar, the Vice-President (Country Programs) of the Islamic Development Bank, after the President’s return from evening prayers.

“We [Nigeria] have serious deficits in port infrastructure, power infrastructure, and agro-allied facilities that will enable sustainable food security in our country. These deficits present an unrivalled opportunity for savvy investors in a market that is by far the largest on the continent. Yes, we had the vision to enable Lekki Deep Seaport before others saw it. We must be bold again,” Tinubu said.

“We see you as a critical enabler. You have partnered with us before. We want to scale it up now and do much more with greater ambition and clear vision,” Tinubu said.

Noting the historic essence of Tinubu’s swift and decisive economic reforms, Muhtar said the financial world has been monitoring events in Nigeria and has concluded that Africa’s largest economy means business this time.

“Mr. President, we know you inherited a very tough set of circumstances. We are ready to support big investments in Nigeria. We agree that if Nigeria succeeds, Africa succeeds. And the world needs Africa to succeed.