CNN’s Richard Quest spoke to Jumoke Oduwole, Nigeria’s minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos.
She told Quest about the renewed sense of trust in the Nigerian economy, where all the indicators are moving in the right direction:
“Investors, Nigerian businesses, the domestic investors, are reinvesting into the economy across key sectors, and you also have international capital rushing in for a key project.”
Oduwole reinforced Nigeria’s strong partnership with the US, saying “U.S. businesses work very closely with Nigerian businesses”.
She stated that what is happening amongst the economy is a “renewed global order” and that “every country has to look at what is best for them”.
On Nigeria’s economic growth, Oduwole said;
“The growth is over four percent and projected to continue growing strongly by the World Bank, the highest in over a decade. Inflation has been halved between 2024 and 2025. But what I would like to even showcase is that the investors, Nigerian businesses, the domestic investors, are reinvesting into the economy across key sectors, and you also have international capital rushing in for a key project.”
On less corruption in the country:
“It’s slow work. I worked on business climate reforms for nearly a decade, So, I know that it’s a sustained intervention, indeed. That’s why I got this job. And so, when you think about, for instance, trading through the ports. We have a single window project that’s going live at the end of this quarter. When you talk about investors coming in, the decisions that they are taking are based on the fact that they can do business with the Nigerians.”
On the difficulty of US tariffs:
“The United States remain our strong strategic partners. We launched a commercial investment partnership in June last year. U.S. businesses work very closely with Nigerian businesses. And businesses just want to do business.”
Speaking on the deteriorating global situation, she said:
“what we are witnessing is a renewed global order. I think every country has to look at what is best for them. We look at Nigeria first.”
“The Nigerian government, last year, we signed a CEPA, our first Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE. We’ve been cultivating that relationship for quite a while. You have seen us in Brazil, you’ve seen us in the U.K. So, new friends, old friends. The point is that we need to look at what is important. We need investment for our infrastructure. We need a market access for our normal exports. And so, we are focused on what it is that we want to deliver.”
On the lack of free trade:
“It takes countries like Nigeria, big economies, taking the agreement seriously and leading the way. We have opened the air cargo corridor with 13 African countries, southern and eastern African countries with Uganda Air, which halved the cost of freight for exporters from Nigeria. So, those kinds of connectivity is actualizing free trade across the continent practical steps. That’s what’s going to deliver the promise of that agreement.”
Watch the interview here.
