From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that Nigeria needs $1.5 trillion over a ten-year period, to achieve an appreciable level of the National Infrastructure Stock.
He made this disclosure 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.
According to a statement by Senior Special Assistant, Garba Shehu, Buhari said: “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.”
President 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.
