Nigeria NOW! invites global investors to Abuja for new opportunities

The Ministry is welcoming global investors at Nigeria NOW!, taking place at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja on 19 and 20 November.

Things are moving forward, with lithium facilities worth $600 million in Nasarawa State and $200 million near Abuja. There is also a $400 million rare earth processing project in Nasarawa. Mining lease applicants now need to submit plans for adding value. Annual mining revenue has jumped from about N6 billion before this administration to over N70 billion by the end of 2025.

Export market routes are also improving. The Federal Executive Council has approved deep seaports at Bakassi and Ondo as public-private partnerships. The Bakassi port alone is valued at $2.27 billion.

With just a month to go, investors and developers heading to Abuja will see these projects up close. In investor boardrooms, the Government of Nigeria will review various projects in detail. These range from large-scale infrastructure to multilateral programs like Mission 300.

Tunde Arisekola, Senior Advisor for Geological and Minerals Information at the African Minerals Development Centre, spoke to Energy News Network in September. He said, "first and foremost all international investors coming to Abuja should understand that Nigeria is ready and open for business." He also called Nigeria’s economy "stable, safe, peaceful and welcoming to all international investors."

The program will start with a welcome from H.E. Dr Oladele Henry Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development. This will be followed by sessions on how the Ministry of Power will boost capacity in Nigeria’s industrial hubs. There will also be talks about policies that are opening the minerals sector to foreign investment, including domestic processing and value addition. The second day will focus on transport and port infrastructure and the $1 billion Domestic Green Bond. It will end with an investors’ clinic on the 2025 Tax Act.

The Lagos State Government, a partner in Nigeria NOW!, now manages its own electricity market. This happened after NERC transferred oversight to the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission. Hon. Biodun Ogunleye, Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, told Energy News Network, "capital follows bankable cashflows." He added that the state’s job is to "create both the infrastructure plan and the commercial architecture that makes that plan financeable."

On Friday, 20 November, YES! Nigeria will run alongside the main program with the theme “Empowering Today’s Entrepreneurs, Building Tomorrow’s Industrialists.” Abuja University and Philomath University are partners in this event, and the Youth Sustainable Development Network is the Community Partner. The opening session will feature young Nigerians already working in the sector, including Damilola Hamid Balogun of YSDN and Emmanuel Terwase of Boost Power.

Nigeria NOW! is organized under the patronage of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development. Partners include the Lagos State Government, the Nigerian Indigenous Women in Mining & Natural Resources Organisation, Women in Mining, Nextier, and The Electricity Hub.