Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Bola Tinubu on Monday approved a series of financing arrangements worth about $2.96 billion, €200 million and ₦215 billion to boost transport, agriculture, power, infrastructure and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele disclosed.
“For Council, we made very strategic decisions, which I have decided to categorize under five headings,” Oyedele told State House Correspondents, summarising approvals drawn from 14 memoranda submitted by the Ministry of Finance.
For transport, he said FEC approved ₦215 billion to complete investments in the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative, covering CNG buses, electric vehicles, CNG‑powered tricycles and vehicle conversion centres. “The first one is to do with transportation, how to bring the cost of transportation down,” he said, adding the approvals will allow remaining investments under the programme to proceed”.
For Agriculture, Oyedele said financing arrangements totalling $900 million were approved to support rural technical and vocational training, Special Agro‑Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) and agricultural value‑chain projects. “Altogether, we have different financing arrangements coming to a total of 900 million U.S. dollars,” Oyedele said.
On Power, the minister said the council approved a $160 million facility for rural solar energy projects in Niger State, with the Islamic Development Bank providing $150 million and the Niger State Government providing $10 million as counterpart funding. “This is a 160 million U.S. dollars facility for Niger State solar development projects,” the minister said.
On Infrastructure, the minister said a $1.2 billion financing facility was cleared for Section Two of the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, a corridor that spans 11 states intended to improve connectivity, ease logistics and support economic development.
For MSMEs and access to credit, Oyedele said FEC approved €200 million and $500 million in financing through the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) to expand access to affordable credit for small businesses. “We always have to think about how to support that sector because supporting them is supporting ourselves and our country,” Oyedele said.
Separately addressing concerns about rising pump prices, Oyedele said the government is engaging petroleum marketers and industry regulators to ensure the fuel market operates fairly and that price adjustments reflect global crude movements more transparently.
He explained marketers tend to raise pump prices quickly when crude prices climb because of replacement costs, but reduce prices more slowly when crude falls due to existing inventory. “We are working to strike a balance between ensuring operators remain commercially viable and protecting Nigerians from unfair pricing,” he said.
Oyedele said the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) are already addressing the issue under the Petroleum Industry Act.
On government efforts to ease transport costs, the minister pointed to tax removals and subsidies the administration has introduced. He said President Tinubu had suspended Value Added Tax (VAT), excise duty and the surcharge on petroleum products, noting that fuel prices in neighbouring countries are 20 to 50 per cent higher because those taxes remain in place.
Oyedele also urged transport operators benefiting from the CNG programme, including subsidised vehicle conversion kits, to pass savings to commuters rather than charging the same fares as petrol‑powered vehicles.
“Government had made significant investments in the CNG programme and I call on all stakeholders to play their part in ensuring Nigerians benefit from the intervention,” he said.
