INDUSTRY MINISTER LAMENTS N2.72BN FUNDING FOR BOOSTING TRADE AND INVESTMENT
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By: Fasasi Hammad
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Jumoke Oduwole, on Monday expressed concern over the proposed ₦2.72 billion capital allocation for her ministry in 2026, describing it as grossly insufficient to deliver on Nigeria’s industrialization, trade expansion, and investment-attracting agenda.
Oduwole made the remarks during the ministry’s budget defence session before the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment, chaired by Senator Umar Sadiq (APC, Kwara North). She highlighted the ministry’s achievements over the past two years as evidence of its capacity to effectively drive economic growth if adequately funded.
According to the minister, Nigeria recorded about $21 billion in capital importation in the first ten months of 2025, compared with $12 billion in 2024 and under $4 billion in 2023. She attributed this improvement to deliberate interventions by the ministry, including the development of over $5 billion in bankable investment projects, sector-specific deal rooms, and the country’s first Domestic Investor Summit.
Oduwole appealed to the National Assembly for a targeted increase in capital funding, stressing that insufficient resources would severely limit the ministry’s ability to support President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the country’s push toward a trillion-dollar economy.
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“The proposed capital allocation of ₦2.72 billion will be a stretch in meeting the full demands of our programmes and capital projects,” she told lawmakers. “Given the scope of our responsibilities, we respectfully seek the committee’s support for a targeted enhancement of our capital allocation to enable us to effectively deliver on our mandate.”
The minister also noted that the ministry had resolved more than 50 major investor bottlenecks and conducted over 100 bilateral investment engagements with countries including the United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and Japan. Sustained engagement under the Nigeria–UK Economic and Trade Partnership led to UK investors accounting for about 65 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign capital inflows in 2025.
On trade performance, Oduwole revealed that Nigeria posted a trade surplus in 2025, with total trade value estimated at ₦113 trillion in the first three quarters and exports growing by 11 per cent year-on-year to approximately $6.1 billion—the highest in the nation’s history.
Senator Umar Sadiq, chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment, acknowledged the ministry’s strategic role in achieving the administration’s economic vision, stating that a trillion-dollar economy would be unattainable without strong performance from the industry, trade, and investment sectors.
The senator stated, “We are all aware of the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to build a trillion-dollar economy.”
He added, however, that the National Assembly’s backing would depend on transparency, accountability, and demonstrable results, noting that lawmakers are focused more on tangible outcomes than on promises.
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