The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has welcomed French investors to capitalize on the growing opportunities in Nigeria, pointing to the country’s ambitious economic reforms and investor-friendly climate.
Speaking to the Nigeria Business Forum in Paris on Thursday, Idris highlighted Nigeria’s reinvigorated economic momentum under the leadership of the President Bola Tinubu. The forum, hosted by Business France, drew more than 200 French companies and key players in the energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and technology industries.
Idris praised veteran French companies with operations in Nigeria Total Energies, Lafarge, Peugeot, Danone, Alstom, and Schneider Electric for their continued efforts in important sectors of the Nigerian economy.
He described the Tinubu government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, an eight-point economic plan, as powering ambitious reforms that are repositioning Nigeria as a more competitive, more transparent, and investor-friendly destination making Nigeria a gateway to Africa’s expanding market through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The Reforms
The Minister listed some of these reforms in progress:
- Unification and stabilisation of the foreign exchange regime
- Phasing out fuel subsidies to redirect resources to development
- Cost-reflective electricity tariffs to ensure long-term energy sustainability
- Tax restructuring, strengthened legislative support, and ease of doing business
- Digitalisation of immigration and trade procedures to boost mobility and economic integration
He also referred to Nigeria’s demographic edge of more than 220 million individuals, 70% of whom are under the age of 35, making it the largest and one of the youngest markets in Africa. With more than 26 years of uninterrupted democracy, Nigeria, he said, offers political stability and a rule-of-law economy backed by institutions like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Idris asserted that in a mere 20 months, the policies of President Tinubu have reversed Nigeria’s fiscal direction to record 3.84% GDP growth in Q1 2024, over 20% revenue growth in the government, and reducing the debt service-to-revenue ratio.
He also spotlighted key growth projects like the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund (RHIDF), Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CrediCorp), Presidential CNG Initiative, and MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF) aim to mobilize trillions of naira of private sector investment.
Idris invited French companies to invest in new areas such as livestock, with the new Ministry of Livestock Development in Nigeria offering new possibilities for partnership particularly with international leaders like Danone in key dairy space.
Aside his business, the Minister will hold bilateral talks with major French institutions like France Médias Monde, ARCOM, the Ministry of Culture, and Thomson Broadcast with a perspective of improving Nigeria-France relations in media and cultural partnerships.
In his own words, quoted by President Tinubu, Idris ended up: “We must brace up for the future with commitment and optimism, and with the courage of our founding fathers.”
