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Nigeria Needs $1.5trillion To Bridge Infrastructure Gap – Buhari

Published

4 years ago

November 2, 2021

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President Muhammadu Buhari says 1.5 trillion dollars is the cumulative estimated amount needed by Nigeria over a ten-year period, to achieve an appreciable level of the National Infrastructure Stock.

A statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity said Buhari gave the figure on Tuesday in Glasgow at a COP 26 high-level side event on improving global infrastructure hosted by President Joe Biden of the United States, EU Commission President, Von Der Leyen and the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

‘‘Nigeria is ready for your investments in infrastructural development in the country.

‘‘My administration has established a clear legal and regulatory framework for private financing of infrastructure to establish a standard process, especially on the monitoring and evaluation process.

‘‘We look forward to working with you in this regard,’’ he told world leaders at the high level meeting on the margins of the climate change conference.

The statement added that Buhari also declared that his administration had taken infrastructure expansion in Nigeria seriously, conscious of the fact that new investments in critical sectors of the economy would aid lifting 100 million Nigerians from poverty by 2030.

‘‘There is a nexus between infrastructural development and the overall economic development of a nation.

‘‘My administration identified this early enough as a major enabler of sustainable economic development and the realization of other continental and global development aspirations particularly the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

‘‘On my assumption of office in 2015, Nigeria faced a huge infrastructure deficit and the total National Infrastructure Stock was estimated at 35% of our Gross Domestic Product.

‘‘In solving these problems, we embarked on a massive infrastructure expansion programme in the areas of Health care, Education, Transportation, Manufacturing, Energy, Housing, Agriculture, and Water Resources.

‘‘We provided more financial resources for these policies, charted new international partnerships and pursued liberalization policies to allow private sector participation.

‘‘We introduced the revised National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan – a policy document that ensures our infrastructure expansion projects is cross-sectorally integrated and environmentally friendly, ’’ he said.

According to the statement, the President welcomed the G7 countries for its ground-breaking plan to mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars of infrastructure investment for low – and middle-income countries.

The statement added that, he noted that the “Build Back Better World” plan, an initiative of the G7 countries, is expected to be a values-driven, high-standard, and transparent infrastructure partnership.

‘‘It is our fervent hope and expectations that this plan will be pursued to its logical conclusion in order to bridge the infrastructural gap between the North and South,’’ he said.

The President was said to have also used the occasion to outline the principles, values and standards Nigeria would like to see from infrastructure initiatives and the challenges the country has faced in partnering with donors on infrastructure development.

‘‘The aim of pursuing quality infrastructure investment is to maximize the positive economic, environmental, social, and development impact of infrastructure and create a virtuous circle of economic activities, while ensuring sound public finances.

‘‘This virtuous circle can take various forms in stimulating the economy,” he said.

The Nigerian leader noted that infrastructure investment should, therefore, take into account economic, environmental and social, and governance aspects, guided by a sense of shared, long-term responsibility for the planet, consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The President added that the positive and negative impacts of infrastructure projects on ecosystems, biodiversity, climate, weather and the use of resources should be internalized by incorporating these environmental considerations over the entire process of infrastructure investment.

‘‘Domestic resource mobilization is critical to addressing the infrastructure financing gap. Assistance for capacity building, including for project preparation, should be provided to developing countries with the participation of international organizations.

‘‘Quality infrastructure investment also needs to be tailored to individual country conditions and consistent with local laws and regulations.

‘‘Furthermore, Infrastructure projects should align with national strategies and nationally determined contributions for those countries determined to implement them, and with transitioning to long-term low emissions strategies, while being mindful of country circumstances,’’ he said.

The statement disclosed that the President also called for the environmental impact of infrastructure investment to be made transparent to all stakeholders, noting that this will enhance the appreciation of sustainable infrastructure projects and increase awareness of related risks.

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US Opposes Palestinian State Recognition, Says It’s Reward For Hamas

Published

3 hours ago

September 24, 2025

Editor

United States President Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, met on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, where they discussed differing views on the future of Gaza and Palestinian statehood.

CNN reports that Trump rejected the two-state solution to the crisis in Gaza, saying the idea portrays “reward” for Hamas.

France recently joined the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal to officially recognise the Palestinian state.

Trump opened the Tuesday bilateral meeting by praising Macron’s diplomatic efforts, claiming the French leader had helped him prevent global conflicts.

“Emmanuel has actually helped me with a couple of the wars,” Trump said, in response to Macron’s recent remark that if the US president wants a Nobel Peace Prize, he should “put an end to the war in Gaza.”

When asked about Palestinian statehood, and his latest remarks, it would be a “gift to Hamas,” Trump again pushed back strongly.

“Well, I think it honors Hamas, and you can’t do that because of October 7. You can’t do that. But we want our hostages back,” Trump said.

“You always have to remember, people forget October 7 was one of the most savage days in the history of the world,” the US president said.

In response, Macron, seated beside Trump, emphasised that recognising a Palestinian state does not mean ignoring Hamas’ October 2023 attacks on Israel.

The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas militant group attacked Israel, which has since launched offensive in the Gaza Strip in retaliation.

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Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Is Dead

Published

16 hours ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdulaziz, has died at the age of 82.

According to a statement from the Royal Court, the revered cleric passed away on Tuesday morning.

Born in Mecca in November 1943, Sheikh Abdulaziz rose to become one of the most influential religious authorities in the Kingdom.

He served as head of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, as well as the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League.

Headline

Antitrust Trial: US Asks Court To Break Up Google’s Ad Business

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.

The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year, following a similar government demand to split up its empire that was shot down by a judge earlier this month.

Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.

In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.

Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.

According to filings, the US government will argue that Google should spin off its ad publisher and exchange operations. The DOJ will also ask that after the divestitures are complete, Google be banned from operating an ad exchange for 10 years.

Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.

“We’ve said from the start that DOJ’s case misunderstands how digital advertising works and ignores how the landscape has dramatically evolved, with increasing competition and new entrants,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.

Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.

This remedy phase of the US trial follows a first trial that found Google operated an illegal monopoly. It is expected to last about a week, with the court set to meet again for closing arguments a few weeks later.

The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.

That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.

Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.

The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.

Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.

Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.

These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.

AFP