Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

Dokun Adedeji, Chief Executive Officer, Compassionate Care Recovery Initiative (CCRI), said achieving a drug-free university requires honesty about substance use and the active involvement of students, parents and the university management.

According to him, the university system must strengthen counselling services, establish clear mental health and substance-use policies, educate parents, and provide access to treatment and rehabilitation.

‘A drug-free campus is achievable through collective responsibility, early intervention, education and compassionate support,’ Adedeji said in a seminar paper titled, ‘Actualising a Drug-Free Caleb University: Stakeholders and Responsibilities,’ at the recent two-day campus mental health awareness and war against drug abuse organised by Caleb University’s Centre for Counselling and Development Services, in collaboration with the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) Club.

He urged the students to resist peer pressure and seek help early, while parents were advised to remain involved, observant and responsible role models. ‘A positive drug test does not automatically mean that a person has an addiction,’ Adedeji said, advocating for a stigma-free environment where students experiencing substance-related difficulties can access appropriate help,

Ayodeji Ajayi, clinical psychologist, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, described youth mental health challenges in Nigeria as an urgent public health concern requiring immediate and collective action.

He highlighted the growing burden of anxiety and depression among young people, alongside limited access to mental health services, stigma, inadequate awareness and misconceptions that prevent many from seeking appropriate care.

Speaking on ‘Mental Health Challenges in Nigeria: A Reality and Ticking Time Bomb,’ Ajayi acknowledged the progress made with Nigeria’s National Mental Health Act of 2023 but reiterated that legislation alone cannot guarantee access to effective careSanmi Johnson Ibidapo, Acting Director, Centre for Counselling and Development Services, Caleb University, said mental health is essential to students’ wellbeing, academic success and future potential. He stressed the importance of seeking help early, breaking the stigma surrounding mental health, and encouraged students to pause, check on themselves, connect with trusted people and seek professional help when required.

Ibidapo urged the students to practise healthy daily habits, including adequate sleep, healthy eating habits, emotional regulation, balanced use of social media and the maintenance of supportive relationships. He also warned against the use alcohol or non-prescribed drugs to cope with stress.

Mixta Africa, a frontline real estate investment and development company, says there is a need to include construction finance in the proposed housing reforms, explaining that it is critical to making the reforms complete and successful.

In line with the ongoing economic reforms, Nigeria is proposing a National Housing and Built Environment Regulation and a National Mortgage Industry Policy that it hopes will address sector challenges, especially the ballooning housing deficit.

Adetola Akinsulire, Mixta Africa’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), insists that besides trust and buyer finance, which are included in the proposed reform, access to construction finance will go a long way to determine the success of the reforms.

Akinsulire, who spoke at CNBC Africa’s Closing Bell West Africa in Lagos recently, stressed that regulation and improved access to buyer finance alone will not close the country’s housing deficit.

‘The proposed reforms address two of the sector’s three critical constraints: the trust deficit and buyer finance. But there is still one leg missing, and that is construction finance,’ he pointed out.

The proposed reforms follow the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s disclosure that real estate and construction contributed more than N77 trillion to Nigeria’s economy in 2025, despite the absence of a unified regulatory framework.

The reforms cover developer registration, escrow protection, land value management, construction quality, urban renewal and a National Housing Data Observatory, alongside proposals for a Housing Finance Authority and a structured diaspora investment window.

Akinsulire said the success of the reform agenda should ultimately be measured against three outcomes, including greater trust in the housing market, improved access to buyer finance, and increased access to construction finance.

Commenting on the proposed National Housing Data Observatory, he welcomed its potential for improved transparency and market intelligence but cautioned that better data alone would not increase housing supply, saying, ‘data does not provide funding to supply homes.’

Akinsulire also argued that the affordability debate should extend beyond the headline price of a property to consider the duration over which buyers can pay.

‘Affordability is not just the price of the home. It’s the duration it takes for people to pay for it. A N60-million home is unaffordable if you have to pay for it in two years. But give someone the option to pay for that same property over 30 years, and it becomes affordable,’ he explained.

Nigeria’s mortgage-to-GDP ratio remains between 0.02 and 0.07 percent, compared with approximately 30 percent in South Africa and 70 percent in the United Kingdom, highlighting the significant gap in mortgage market depth.

The CCO disclosed that Mixta Africa is working on starter homes designed to meet the needs of the mass market, noting that developer-led innovation remains an important lever for improving housing affordability.

He identified the proposed diaspora investment window as one of the government’s potentially quickest wins, given existing demand from Nigerians abroad and their familiarity with structured mortgage and property-financing products.

Mixta Africa is of the view that escrow releases should be tied to independently verified construction milestones, while buyer protection mechanisms must be accompanied by sustainable construction finance.

The company believes this combination is essential to ensuring that credible developers can continue to deliver housing at scale.

President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve a supplementary external borrowing plan worth $20.52 billion and pound 1.045 billion to finance projects and development programmes in critical sectors of the economy.

The request was conveyed in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday.

Tinubu said the proposed loans would support investments in infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, security, job creation and financial management reforms.

According to the President, the borrowing plan is intended to stimulate economic growth, address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit and advance the country’s socio-economic development.

‘The total facility for the projects and programmes under the borrowing rolling plan is 20 billion 517 million US dollars and 1 billion 45 million eighty-three thousand six hundred and forty-three euros respectively,’ the letter stated.

The President said the projects were subjected to technical and economic assessments before their selection, with their expected impact on national development forming a key consideration.

He added that the proposed investments would generate employment, promote skills development, support entrepreneurship, alleviate poverty and strengthen food security.

Tinubu further disclosed that the bulk of the projects and programmes would be executed across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

Defending the need for additional external financing, the President pointed to the substantial resources required to close Nigeria’s infrastructure gap.

‘In light of the need for significant infrastructure investment in the country and the vast financial resources needed to address this gap, it has become essential to pursue prudent external borrowings to close the financing shortfall,’ he said.

He noted that the proposed facilities would largely be channelled towards essential infrastructure, particularly in the power, transportation and healthcare sectors.

Following the presentation of the letter, Akpabio said some components of the borrowing proposal had featured in previous budget considerations, while an external borrowing plan had also been approved by the Senate at an earlier period.

He subsequently referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for examination in conjunction with the committees on Appropriation and Finance.

The committees have been given one week to complete their review and present their findings to the Senate.

Akpabio said the report would inform the Senate’s decision on the President’s request.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the ‘Aviation Writer of the Year’ Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has intensified its preparations for the 2027 general election, unveiling its national secretariat in Abuja.

The party also inaugurated its presidential campaign council and declared an uncompromising push for political change, as the Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi promised a war on corruption and measurable improvements in governance, while the party’s campaign advisory chief, Babachir David Lawal, warned against electoral malpractice and violence. Nigerian Banking Launch

The twin messages of economic rescue and electoral vigilance defined the party’s activities on Monday, following its Third National Executive Committee meeting and the inauguration of its newly acquired national headquarters at 393 Etang Obuli Crescent, Jabi, Abuja.

At a dinner held to mark the occasion, Obi, who is running with Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as his vice-presidential candidate, pledged to confront insecurity, poverty, unemployment and the rising cost of living, insisting that an NDC administration would prioritise results over political blame games.

Lawal, chairman of the NDC Campaign Advisory Council, reinforced the party’s determination to win the presidential election, declaring that the country had reached a critical juncture and could not afford further regression.

‘Nigeria is at a point where going backwards is not possible while going forward is replete with difficulties. But going forward we must,’ he said in his address at the inauguration of the party’s election committees.

The developments signal the beginning of a more structured nationwide campaign by the NDC, which is seeking to position itself as an alternative to the administration of President Bola Tinubu, with a platform built around accountability, economic recovery, security and improved public services. Read Economics

Obi puts corruption, economic recovery at heart of campaign

Obi made the fight against corruption a central pillar of his presidential campaign, arguing that public resources must be deployed for the benefit of citizens rather than diverted through corrupt practices.

‘We must stop people from stealing public money. We must use public money for the public good. And that will be seen, it will be shown,’ he said.

The former Anambra State governor questioned the outcomes of increased government revenue and borrowing under the Tinubu administration, challenging the federal government to provide a detailed account of its expenditure, projects and achievements.

He also alleged that implementation of the 2023, 2024 and 2025 budgets was poor, claiming that capital expenditure remained below 20 per cent and that contractors were experiencing payment difficulties.

Obi argued that Nigerians needed a government capable of addressing current challenges rather than repeatedly explaining their origins.

‘The purpose of governance is to solve problems, not to blame people. Kwankwaso and I will not blame anybody. We will create that new Nigeria that is possible,’ he said. Nigerian Banking Launch

He maintained that an NDC government would insist on accountability from public officeholders and ensure that anyone found culpable of corruption answered in accordance with the law.

Security, agriculture and power top emergency agenda

Beyond corruption, Obi outlined emergency interventions in security, agriculture, education, healthcare and electricity, promising that the proposed administration would establish measurable targets and pursue implementation from its first day in office.

On security, he said the president must demonstrate direct leadership in responding to emergencies and visit communities affected by violence, kidnapping and other threats.

‘If they say there is a problem in Jos, he will go to Jos,’ Obi said, adding that affected states, including Plateau, Benue, Zamfara, Sokoto and Borno, would receive attention.

He also pledged to declare an emergency in agriculture, particularly in northern Nigeria, where insecurity has disrupted farming and restricted access to productive land.

‘We have vast land in the north. When we secure the north, our farmers must go back and produce what we eat and what we use for our industries,’ he said.

The NDC candidate linked agricultural recovery to lower food prices, reduced hunger, job creation and stronger domestic production, arguing that restoring security in farming communities would be critical to rebuilding the economy.

On electricity, he promised emergency measures across generation, transmission and distribution, describing reliable power supply as indispensable to industrial revival and employment growth.

‘We will declare emergency on generation, transmission, and distribution,’ he said.

Obi also called for the revival of manufacturing industries, citing the decline of industrial activity in Kano as an example of the wider challenges confronting the productive sector. He argued that Nigeria must move away from an economy driven by consumption and borrowing towards one that creates jobs, expands production and earns sustainable income. Nigerian Banking Launch

SMEs to receive more than 20% of credit

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also featured prominently in the NDC’s economic proposals, with Obi promising improved access to financing, tax relief and incentives for businesses.

Citing figures indicating that Nigeria has more than 40 million SMEs but that they receive less than five per cent of bank lending, he pledged that an NDC administration would ensure that more than 20 per cent of credit went to small businesses.Nigerian Banking Launch

The massive unwinding of artificial intelligence (AI) stocks on Wall Street is reverberating across global currency markets.

As the US dollar succumbs to mounting pressure from the tech sector sell-off, the Nigerian naira stands positioned to claw back ground, offering a brief respite from persistent foreign exchange (FX) volatility.

Data published by the CBN showed that the naira depreciated by N5.77, as the dollar was quoted at N1,367.61 on Monday, compared with N1,361.84 on Friday at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM). The last time the naira traded at this level was on July 31, 2026, when it exchanged at N1,368.22 per dollar.

The highest quoted rate on Monday was N1,380 per dollar, N15 stronger than the highest rate of N1,395 recorded on Friday.

In the parallel market, also known as the black market, the local currency weakened by N5, or 0.36 percent, to close at N1,382 per dollar on Monday, compared with N1,377 per dollar on Friday. The gap between the official and parallel market rates narrowed to 1.06 percent, or N14.39, on Monday from 1.11 percent, or N15.16, on Friday.

A fall in the US dollar could offer Nigeria some relief from its foreign exchange challenges, lowering the cost of imports and easing the naira burden of servicing external debt. But that prospect depends on whether the country can attract enough dollar inflows to take advantage of a shift in global currency markets.

The possibility comes as concerns grow over the valuations of artificial intelligence companies and the risk of a sell-off in US equities. Analysts at TD Securities have warned that a sustained decline in American stocks could put pressure on the dollar, particularly if investors begin to expect interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

For Nigeria, the implications are worth watching. The naira has been vulnerable to fluctuations in foreign exchange supply, demand for dollars and movements in international capital. A weaker dollar could improve the external environment, but it would not automatically translate into a stronger naira.

The distinction matters. Nigeria’s currency problems cannot be explained by the strength of the dollar alone. Oil earnings, foreign investment, import demand and confidence in the domestic foreign exchange market will remain important in determining how much relief the country receives.

What a weaker dollar could mean for the naira …

If a sell-off in US equities changes expectations about interest rates, some of that support could weaken. Investors may begin looking beyond the United States for better returns, potentially creating opportunities for emerging and frontier markets.

Nigeria could benefit if it attracts a share of those funds. Increased foreign investment in naira-denominated assets would bring additional demand for the local currency and could help ease pressure on the exchange rate.

However, investors do not move their money out of the United States simply because its stock market falls. They consider returns, liquidity, political and economic risks, and the ease of moving money in and out of other markets. Nigeria would still need to demonstrate that investors can access foreign exchange and repatriate their funds.

A weaker dollar against major international currencies would also not necessarily mean a stronger naira against the dollar. If dollar inflows into Nigeria remain limited while demand from importers and other buyers stays high, the exchange rate could remain under pressure.

Import costs could come under less pressure …

One of the clearest potential benefits for Nigeria would be a reduction in the cost of imported goods, provided the naira strengthens or becomes more stable against the dollar.

Businesses across the country rely on imported machinery, raw materials, pharmaceuticals, electronics and industrial equipment. When the naira weakens, importers generally need more local currency to pay for the same goods, adding to production costs and, eventually, consumer prices.

A more stable exchange rate could give manufacturers some breathing room. Businesses that spend heavily on imported inputs may find it easier to plan production, manage cash flow and avoid frequent price adjustments.

Consumers could also benefit if lower import costs feed through to retail prices. But the relief would not be immediate. Businesses may still be selling goods purchased at earlier, less favourable exchange rates, while transport, energy and distribution expenses could keep prices high.

Food inflation, in particular, has domestic drivers that a weaker dollar cannot resolve. Local agricultural output, insecurity, storage, transportation and the cost of getting produce to market will continue to influence food prices.

The potential benefit, therefore, is not that a falling dollar would solve Nigeria’s inflation problem. It is that a more favourable exchange rate could remove some of the pressure currently feeding into business costs and household spending.

External debt could cost less in naira terms …

The government could also benefit if the naira strengthens against the dollar.

Nigeria’s dollar-denominated debt does not automatically shrink when the dollar weakens. The amount owed in foreign currency remains the same unless the debt is repaid or restructured. What changes is the naira equivalent of the principal and interest payments.

For example, if the naira strengthens against the dollar, the government would need fewer naira to purchase the dollars required for a given debt payment. If the naira depreciates, the reverse happens.

That difference matters for a government already managing competing demands for revenue. Money used to meet debt obligations is money that cannot be spent on other priorities, although the actual fiscal benefit would depend on the currency composition of the debt, the timing of repayments and movements in the exchange rate.

The effect should not be overstated. A weaker dollar would not eliminate Nigeria’s debt burden, and any improvement in the naira value of external obligations could be offset by additional borrowing, rising interest costs or a decline in government revenue.

Still, a sustained improvement in the exchange rate could give the government more room to manage its foreign currency commitments.

Why the dollar could still strengthen …

During periods of market turbulence, investors often move money into dollar assets because of their liquidity and perceived safety. A sharp decline in US stocks could therefore trigger demand for the dollar, even if concerns about American technology valuations or interest rates are growing.

The Federal Reserve’s response would also matter. If weaker markets or slowing economic activity prompt expectations of rate cuts, the dollar could lose some of its yield advantage. But if investors prioritise safety over returns, the currency could remain firm.

Nigeria should therefore be cautious about treating a possible dollar decline as a solution to its foreign exchange difficulties.

The more important task is to strengthen the country’s ability to earn and retain foreign currency. Higher and more reliable oil receipts, increased non-oil exports, stronger investment inflows and greater confidence in the foreign exchange market would put Nigeria in a better position to benefit from changes in global financial conditions.

A weaker dollar could create an opening for the naira. Whether that opening translates into cheaper imports, slower price increases and lower naira-denominated debt-service costs will depend on what happens within Nigeria’s own economy.

For the country, the opportunity is not simply to benefit from a weaker dollar, but to build the conditions that make the naira less vulnerable whenever the global outlook changes.

The earnings decline came despite a reduction in loan impairment charges to N29.02 billion from N69.79 billion a year earlier, reflecting lower provisions against potential loan losses during the reporting period.

GTCO’s interest expenses, however, increased by 27.7 percent to N356 billion from N278.73 billion, putting pressure on net interest income, which fell to N935.88 billion from N952.14 billion.

The group’s profit before tax also declined by 2.3 percent to N879.90 billion from N900.80 billion in the same period of 2025.

A key pressure point was the increase in income tax expense, which rose by 31.9 percent to N265.32 billion from N201.16 billion. This further reduced the amount of earnings retained after tax.

The earnings decline came despite a reduction in loan impairment charges to N29.02 billion from N69.79 billion a year earlier, reflecting lower provisions against potential loan losses during the reporting period.

GTCO’s interest expenses, however, increased by 27.7 percent to N356 billion from N278.73 billion, putting pressure on net interest income, which fell to N935.88 billion from N952.14 billion.

The group’s profit before tax also declined by 2.3 percent to N879.90 billion from N900.80 billion in the same period of 2025.

A key pressure point was the increase in income tax expense, which rose by 31.9 percent to N265.32 billion from N201.16 billion. This further reduced the amount of earnings retained after tax.

Ghana’s profit after tax increased from N99.70 billion in the corresponding period of 2025, while Nigeria’s declined from N506.63 billion, according to the group’s unaudited financial statements.

Other West African subsidiaries also contributed to earnings. GTBank Côte d’Ivoire recorded a profit after tax of N24.07 billion, followed by The Gambia with N19.13 billion, Sierra Leone with N15.23 billion and Liberia with N9.15 billion.

In East Africa, GTBank Kenya generated N7.63 billion in profit after tax, while its Tanzania operation recorded a loss of N434.19 million. GTBank UK contributed N5.76 billion.

The third-quarter results showed a steeper decline in profitability. GTCO’s profit after tax fell by 20 percent to N200.39 billion in the three months ended September 2026, compared with N250.63 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

Organisations are increasingly asking which artificial intelligence tools to buy, which tasks to automate and how quickly they can realise productivity gains. These are reasonable questions, but they are not the first questions that determine whether AI will improve performance. The more important question is whether the organisation and its people are ready to use the technology well.

Buying a tool is an event. Readiness is a condition that must be built.

AI can summarise documents, analyse information, draft communications and support decisions. Yet its usefulness depends on the work around it: the quality of the information provided, the employee’s ability to question an output, the manager’s understanding of the process, and the rules governing what the tool may access or influence.

Without these conditions, an organisation can introduce AI and still see inconsistent results, duplicated work or new risks.

For Nigerian businesses, readiness deserves particular attention. Organisations operate with different levels of digital capability, infrastructure, data quality and employee exposure to emerging tools. Even within the same organisation, a technology team may be comfortable experimenting while other teams are uncertain about how AI applies to their work. Some employees worry that asking questions will reveal a skills gap; others fear that the purpose of adoption is to make their roles redundant. Ignoring these concerns does not make them disappear. It can push experimentation out of sight and reduce the opportunity to learn safely.

Workforce readiness is not the same as giving everyone a one-day introduction to prompts. It includes the knowledge, judgement, confidence and support people need to use AI for appropriate tasks. Employees must know the tool’s limits, how to verify its output, when to seek human review, and what info to avoid entering into an unapproved system. These are practical capabilities, not abstract technology awareness.

The organisation must also be ready. Leaders need to identify the business problem before selecting a tool. Adding AI to an already unclear or poorly designed process will not necessarily lead to improvement. Managers must determine accountability for decisions, establish protocols for handling exceptions, and identify situations where human judgement is crucial. Policies on privacy, security, bias, transparency and review must be understandable enough to guide daily work, not merely sit in a manual.

This is why AI readiness should be treated as a business transformation issue, not only an IT project. Human resources and learning and development teams have an important role, but they cannot carry the responsibility alone. They can assess capability gaps, design role-specific learning, support reskilling and help managers prepare teams. Business leaders must connect these efforts to priorities, processes and measures of performance. Technology, people, workflows and governance have to move together.

A practical starting point is to examine a small number of real workflows. What is taking too long? Where are errors or delays occurring? Which parts of the task involve repeatable processing, and which require context, ethical judgement or a relationship with a customer or colleague? Once the task is understood, the organisation can decide where AI may assist, what the employee must still check and what training or process change is needed.

The next step is to establish a baseline and define evidence of improvement. The number of licences purchased, employees trained or prompts generated can tell a leader something about activity, but not whether work has improved. More useful indicators might include turnaround time, rework, quality, responsiveness, employee confidence or the consistency of decisions, depending on the task. Results should be reviewed carefully because changes may also be influenced by staffing, systems, workload or other business conditions.

President Bola Tinubu is seeking legislative approval for $21.67 billion in fresh external loans without providing details of the individual projects the funds will finance, raising concerns about the viability and returns of the intended investments.

Economists also insist that the lack of clarity surrounding the projects makes it difficult to determine whether some of the investments should instead attract private capital.

The proposed borrowing comprises $20.52 billion and pound 1.045 billion under the 2026-2027 external borrowing plan, according to a letter read by Godswill Akpabio, Senate president, during plenary on Tuesday.

Tinubu said the proposed investments would generate employment, promote skills acquisition, encourage entrepreneurship, reduce poverty and improve food security. He argued that external borrowing was necessary to bridge Nigeria’s infrastructure financing gap.Nigerian Banking Launch

‘In light of the need for significant infrastructure investment in the country and the vast financial resources needed to address this gap, it has become essential to pursue broader external borrowings to close the financing shortfall,’ he said.

However, the letter did not identify the individual projects to be financed, their expected financial returns or whether alternative private-sector financing arrangements had been considered. The absence of these details makes it difficult to assess the economic justification for adding to the government’s debt burden.

For commercially viable infrastructure, private investment, concessions and public-private partnerships could reduce the government’s upfront financing requirements. But without project-level information, it remains unclear which investments could attract private capital and which require public funding because of their wider social and economic benefits.

The request comes as Nigeria’s public debt stood at N166.79 trillion at the end of June 2026, according to the Debt Management Office. If the proposed loans are fully approved, disbursed and added to existing obligations, public debt could approach N200 trillion, depending on exchange rates and other debt movements.Nigerian Banking Launch

The latest borrowing request comes despite improvements in government revenue collection following reforms that include the removal of petrol subsidies, foreign exchange liberalisation and changes to the tax system.

Nigeria’s debt profile on the rise

Nigeria’s total revenue collection rose from N6.8 trillion five years ago to N28.7 trillion in 2025, while the revenue agency is targeting N40.7 trillion in 2026.

Federal allocations also increased from N16.28 trillion in 2023 to N28.78 trillion in 2024, according to independent think tank Agora Policy.

Despite the revenue gains, total public debt rose from N87.37 trillion in June 2023 to N166.79 trillion in June 2026, adding to concerns about the government’s ability to finance development without further increasing its debt burden.

‘The budget expanded to N68.3 trillion, and the revenue expected to fund most of that would come from borrowings, implying that the debt levels will rise. And that’s what we’re seeing now,’ Ibrahim Bakare, a professor of economics at Lagos State University, said. The latest request follows previous external borrowing approvals, including a $516.3 million Deutsche Bank AG loan for the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, approved about five months ago.

The nine-year facility carries an interest rate capped at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus 5.3 percentage points annually and includes a grace period of up to three years.

In March, the National Assembly also approved a $6 billion external borrowing plan comprising a $5 billion facility from First Abu Dhabi Bank to support the national budget and a $1 billion UK export-finance facility arranged by Citibank for the rehabilitation of Tin Can Island Port and Lagos Port Complex.

Eze Onyekpere, lead director of the Centre for Social Justice, said the use of borrowed funds was more important than the act of borrowing itself.

‘We do not have much problem with collecting loans, but what you actually do with borrowed funds, and so that is the critical challenge of Nigeria. The law is clear that you only borrow for capital expenditure, capital regenerative expenditure or human capital development,’ he said.

Five ways Nigeria can projects without more debt

Economists who spoke to BusinessDay have also argued that there are other ways which the federal government could fund projects without incurring more debt. The Economists said this while also reacting to Nigeria’s FGs target of raising funds to finance capital projects. Sylvester Anaba, head of research at United Capital, said the government must distinguish between proposed project values and capital actually committed.

‘The critical question is not merely whether Nigeria can attract $78.5 billion, but whether it can structure and execute the projects in ways that make them sufficiently attractive to private investors without transferring excessive risks and liabilities back to the government,’ he said.

Ayo Teriba, chief executive officer of Economics Associates, said equity financing would allow investors to share ownership and risks without fixed interest obligations.

Here are five ways Nigeria could mobilise the capital.

Attract domestic and foreign equity

The government could invite domestic companies, foreign infrastructure funds, private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds to finance commercially viable projects in exchange for ownership stakes and future profits.

Teriba said wider access to investment opportunities would allow investors to assess expected returns.

‘The more equity you can raise, the more you can use equity to refinance outstanding debt and crash interest rates,’ he said.

Unlock idle assets

Nigeria could raise funds through the sale of selected public assets, concessions, long-term leases and strategic divestments.

PwC estimates that N180 trillion in trapped, dead and idle assets could be unlocked through restructuring and more productive use.

Anaba said proceeds from asset recycling should be directed towards productive investment. However, some assets may be encumbered or require substantial investment before they can generate returns.

Anaba said investments would require competitive returns, adequate liquidity and credible project structures to protect contributors’ savings.

Reform electricity to attract investors

Rafiq Raji, a member of BusinessDay’s Board of Economists, said electricity market reform, particularly the gas-to-power value chain, was essential to attracting large-scale investment.

He called for full electricity market liberalisation and a willing-buyer, willing-seller model for electricity and gas pricing.

Raji estimated that at least $50 billion could be mobilised from commercial banks, pension funds and African development finance institutions to help meet an estimated $12 billion annual financing requirement for a liberalised electricity sector.

Expand public-private partnerships and diaspora investment

Anaba said investments would require competitive returns, adequate liquidity and credible project structures to protect contributors’ savings.

Reform electricity to attract investors

Rafiq Raji, a member of BusinessDay’s Board of Economists, said electricity market reform, particularly the gas-to-power value chain, was essential to attracting large-scale investment.

He called for full electricity market liberalisation and a willing-buyer, willing-seller model for electricity and gas pricing.

Raji estimated that at least $50 billion could be mobilised from commercial banks, pension funds and African development finance institutions to help meet an estimated $12 billion annual financing requirement for a liberalised electricity sector.

Expand public-private partnerships and diaspora investment

From a campus food stall to multi-state restaurant chains, these entrepreneurs have helped shape the country’s quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry.

Fast food is now part of everyday life in Nigeria’s cities, serving customers who want meals that are quick, familiar and fairly priced. Behind many of the brands consumers know best are founders who built businesses around local tastes and then faced the harder task of keeping quality consistent across many outlets.

Their paths differ. Some left careers in banking and accounting for the food business, while others drew on experience in catering and restaurant management. Their operating models differ too, from traditional dine-in restaurants to app-based ordering and pickup.

Here are seven entrepreneurs behind well-known fast-food brands in Nigeria.