General News
Ministry of Finance Leads FG-Backed Deal to Deliver Quality Homes and Boost Agriculture in Niger State
The Federal Ministry of Finance has anchored the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Niger State Government and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) for the implementation of a Mass Housing and Agricultural Settlement Project in Niger State.
Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Dr. Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, the Honourable Minister of State for Finance, described the agreement as a landmark initiative that underscores the Federal Government’s commitment to cooperative federalism, inclusive economic growth, and strategic alignment in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
With the Federal Ministry of Finance serving as the anchor institution, the project benefits from strong policy coordination, financial credibility, and institutional oversight. The initiative is designed to integrate housing delivery with agricultural productivity, rural stability, and economic empowerment.
“Housing is a fundamental pillar of development. In Niger State, housing also intersects directly with agriculture, food security, and rural livelihoods. This project is therefore structured not merely as a housing intervention, but as a settlement framework for farmers aimed at strengthening agricultural value chains,” the Minister stated.
Niger State, one of Nigeria’s most agriculturally endowed states, continues to face challenges, including insecure settlements, rural-urban migration, and limited rural infrastructure. The project seeks to address these constraints by providing secure, well-planned housing settlements for farmers, strategically located to support agricultural production, storage, processing, and access to markets.
The Honourable Minister emphasized that anchoring farmers in stable communities with access to basic infrastructure will improve productivity, reduce post-harvest losses, enhance security, and encourage youth participation in agriculture, making farming more efficient, attractive, and profitable.
Sustainability and affordability are core pillars of the initiative, with integrated renewable energy solutions—including solar-powered homes and community facilities, designed to ensure reliable power, reduce energy costs, and support agro-processing and storage activities. The project also prioritises efficient land use, access roads, water infrastructure, and environmentally responsible building practices.
Reacting to the sustainability focus of the project, the Governor of Niger State, His Excellency Mohammed Umaru Bago, expressed strong optimism about its transformative impact on the state.
“When you say sustainability, affordability is very important. When I heard that a mini-grid has been deployed in Jos, it’s because it’s affordable. Diesel is not sustainable because it’s not affordable. For considering the factor of affordability in this project, we’re grateful,” the Governor said.
He further announced the state’s commitment to the project, adding, “So, Honourable Minister, Niger State is bringing forward 100,000 hectares of land for this project. I want to assure you that with this initiative, you have solved 80 percent of our problems.”
Drawing a direct link to the Federal Government’s development agenda, Governor Bago noted, “We’ve gone across the world and seen how people transit from poverty to prosperity. And I think the goal of the President, my father, is for us to transition our people out of poverty in the next four years, by the grace of God.”
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr. Armstrong Ume Takang (Ph.D.), who attended the ceremony alongside other critical stakeholders, including the building contractor, reaffirmed MOFI’s commitment to quality delivery and agricultural productivity.
Dr. Takang assured the Niger State Government of the contractor’s proven competence and credibility in delivering mass housing projects, stressing that affordability would not come at the expense of quality.
“We want affordable and decent houses. The fact that they are located in rural communities does not mean the quality should be compromised,” he said.
Beyond housing, Dr. Takang highlighted MOFI’s broader role in strengthening the agricultural component of the settlements through strategic partnerships.
“We have partners who will supply affordable fertilisers imported in large quantities. We will also work with other partners to ensure access to key agricultural inputs, not only fertilisers, but also pesticides, high-quality seeds, and elements of mechanisation,” he added.
The project adopts an innovative financing model that blends public assets with private investment, ensuring sustainability, transparency, and shared risk. Through this approach, the government focuses on policy direction and oversight while leveraging private sector efficiency and capital.
Beyond improving food security, the Mass Housing and Agricultural Settlement Project will stimulate broad-based economic activity and generate employment across construction, agriculture, Agro-processing, renewable energy, logistics, and community services. The initiative will support local industries such as cement, steel, transportation, and agro-allied enterprises, while strengthening rural economies and increasing Niger State’s internally generated revenue.
Affordability and inclusiveness remain central to the project’s design. The settlements are tailored to the income realities of farmers and low- to middle-income earners, supported by transparent allocation mechanisms and strong governance structures to ensure benefits reach the intended beneficiaries.
The MoU sends a clear signal to the investment community that Niger State, working in alignment with the Federal Ministry of Finance and MOFI, is open to credible, well-structured, and impact-driven investment. Developers, financial institutions, pension funds, real estate investors, and agribusiness operators are invited to view the project as a scalable and replicable model.
Reaffirming the Federal Ministry of Finance’s commitment, the Honourable Minister assured stakeholders of continued coordination, fiscal discipline, and policy support to ensure the project moves swiftly from signing to execution and delivery.
Commending the leadership of MOFI and the Executive Governor of Niger State, the Minister concluded that the initiative reflects a shared vision for integrated development.
“Through this partnership, we are not just building houses; we are creating stable farming communities, strengthening food security, and laying the foundation for sustained prosperity in Niger State,” she said.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is reportedly nearing completion of a $2.5 billion private placement that values the company at about $40 billion ahead of its planned public listing.
Private placement is the direct sale of company shares or bonds to pre-selected investors instead of the general public and it is used to raise money quickly while avoiding strict public reporting rules.
People familiar with the transaction said investors acquired as much as 6 per cent of the refinery, according to a BusinessDay report.
The reported terms would value the business at approximately $40 billion.
Neither Dangote Group nor the refinery has publicly announced the final amount raised, the identities of most subscribers or the precise percentage sold.
The figures should therefore be treated as transaction details supplied by unnamed sources rather than confirmed company disclosures.
The reported $2.5 billion total is nevertheless significant as it indicates strong demand for exposure to a privately controlled refinery that has rapidly become central to Nigeria’s fuel supply and an increasingly important exporter of petroleum products.
The placement was said to have attracted more demand than the available shares, allowing the company to secure substantially more than the amount initially associated with the fundraising exercise.
Femi Otedola, chairman, First HoldCo, is the only major participant publicly identified in the report.
He reportedly committed $100 million to the transaction and sold his investment in Geregu Power Plc to finance the acquisition.
Nigeria’s pension industry was also reportedly cleared to participate.
Access to more than $17 billion in retirement assets would broaden the refinery’s potential investor base beyond wealthy individuals and conventional institutional buyers.
Participation by Pension Fund Administrators would, however, require careful attention to valuation, liquidity and portfolio-concentration limits.
Retirement funds must balance the attraction of a large Nigerian industrial asset against their responsibility to protect contributors’ savings.
The implied $40 billion valuation represents investor expectations about the refinery’s future earnings rather than only the physical cost of constructing the facility.
Its ability to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily gives it a central role in supplying Nigeria and other markets, but its commercial performance remains connected to crude availability, product prices, exchange rates and regulation.
The refinery has struggled to obtain all the Nigerian crude it requires under the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement.
It has consequently purchased some feedstock internationally and recently moved local petroleum-product pricing into dollars to align sales revenue more closely with its foreign-currency expenses.
Those constraints will be important during any public offering.
Prospective shareholders will want greater clarity on crude-supply contracts, debt, operating margins, export revenue and the company’s relationship with Nigerian regulators.
It is also unclear whether the private placement involved newly issued shares, a sale by existing owners or a combination of both.
That distinction determines whether the reported $2.5 billion becomes fresh capital for the refinery or proceeds received by selling shareholders.
The transaction could provide a useful price reference for the planned initial public offering.
Federal government will next month launch Nigeria’s first national organized crime strategy to strengthen the country’s response to terrorism, cybercrime, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, illicit financial flows, and other forms of organized crime.
Major General Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, disclosed this in Abuja during the validation of the strategy document.
He said the strategy provides a coordinated national framework for tackling organized crime through improved intelligence sharing, stronger collaboration among security agencies, and closer cooperation with the criminal justice system, civil society organizations, and international partners.
Major General Laka explained that the document was developed through a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Government, and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Cheikh Toure, UNODC representative, said the strategy would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, kidnapping, and illicit financial flows.
Also speaking, Douglas Grane, acting director of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, reaffirmed the U.S. government’s support for Nigeria’s efforts to tackle organized crime through stronger inter-agency and international cooperation.
Representatives of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and the National Cyber Security Centre also endorsed the initiative, describing it as a major step towards improving Nigeria’s fight against organized crime.
FATE Foundation, with funding from the Citi Foundation, has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme to equip young people in Nigeria with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
Delivered through free, safe, and accessible platforms, the programme supports the incubation and scaling of youth-led enterprises, enabling income generation and job creation.
In October 2025, FATE Foundation was selected as a recipient of Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge to Accelerate Youth Employability. Joining the cohort of 50 organisations globally, the Foundation will receive $500,000 over two years to advance its youth employability initiative.
“We are excited to be selected for Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge,” said Ayomide Akindolie-Igwe, Executive Director of FATE Foundation.
“This support enables us to equip young entrepreneurs in Nigeria with the financial literacy and skills needed to build and scale sustainable businesses.”
The programme addresses youth employability by tackling Africa’s growing jobs crisis. By 2030, the African continent will be home to 40% of the world’s youth, and with one in three under 35 already unemployed, this initiative will support Nigerian youth with a two-phase approach. It begins with financial literacy training before progressing to entrepreneurship development, incubation support, and access to tools needed to build viable, job-creating businesses.
“Through this innovative initiative, FATE Foundation is supporting low-income Nigerian youth to develop essential financial and entrepreneurial skills using accessible platforms.
“This support is not just helping individuals to succeed; it is building a solid foundation for sustainable enterprises that will drive job creation and contribute significantly to our nation’s economic vitality. This initiative is empowering and investing in the future of Nigeria, one youth at a time,” said Nneka Enwereji, MD/CEO Citibank Nigeria Limited.
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