Anayochukwu Agbo
Those apprehensive of Nigeria being invaded by the United States to take out terrorists may now heave a sigh of relief as the ‘diplomatic spat’ has been resolved through diplomacy.
This was disclosed by Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, during a press briefing where he presented the highlights of the scorecard of the federal government to the media in Abuja on Monday, December 22.
“We navigated complex international diplomacy with maturity and principle. The recent diplomatic spat with the United States has been resolved through firm, respectful engagement, culminating in a strengthened partnership,” he affirmed.
“Just last week, the Federal Government of Nigeria signed a five-year $5.1bn bilateral health cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of the United States – in which the US will provide $2.1bn in grant funding, while Nigeria commits $3bn. This has been described as the largest co-investment by any country to date under the America First Global Health Strategy. It will strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system, save lives, and attract investment.
“Indeed, Nigeria is no longer on the sidelines; we are a confident and strategic partner on the global stage, defending our national interests and attracting beneficial partnerships. Just last month, we regained our Category C seat on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council for the 2026–2027 biennium; a celebrated comeback following 14 years of absence.”
Similarly, also in 2025, various Nigerians assumed significant international positions across various sectors: Chairperson of the Council of the World Customs Organisation, Executive Director of the World Health Organisation’s Health Emergencies Programme, Vice Chair of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council, and Vice President of the International Association for Ports and Harbours in Tokyo.
“Additionally, this year, we secured hosting rights for the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) 2026, and the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2027, one of the largest trade gatherings on the African continent.”
Against this background, “in 2026, our newly appointed Ambassadors will take up their posts in their countries of assignment, strengthening our bilateral relations and advancing our visibility and strategic engagements in the global community.”
He confirmed the news from the Office of the National Security Adviser that the abducted 130 pupils of the St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Niger State, were released on Sunday, December 21.
“With this development, it can be confirmed that all the abducted pupils, numbering 230, have been freed. Not a single pupil is left in captivity due to the efforts of our security agencies. In this joyous season, the Federal Government empathises with the parents of the pupils for the anguish the abduction has caused them, and wishes them a pleasant family reunion, a good healing process, Compliments of the Season and a Merry Christmas.”
On the 2025 scorecard, he said the economy is on the rebound. The Gross Domestic Product, GDP, grew by 3.98 percent in the third quarter, “demonstrating resilient and sustained expansion in the non-oil sector.”
The headline inflation declined for eight consecutive months, to stand at 14.45percent in November 2025. Food inflation is also on a steady downward trend.
External reserves grew to $44.56 billion, “providing a robust buffer that stabilises our currency and assures international investors.”
Nigeria also recorded a trade surplus of N6.69 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, a 27.29 percent growth year-on-year.
Likewise, the most recent Purchasing Managers Index, PMI, data – an important measure of business sentiment – says Nigeria has seen “12 consecutive months of expansion in economic activities.”
On electricity generation, Idris said Nigeria recorded a maximum daily energy of 128,370.75 megawatt-hours, MWh, nationwide on March 4, 2025, “the highest ever in our history.”
In 2025, the Presidential Metering Initiative, PMI, and the issuance of the first Bond under the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme, “the single largest coordinated financial intervention in the history of our power sector,” also gave a lift to the power sector.
The viability of the Nigerian economy was further highlighted in the “massively oversubscribed” Eurobond issuance, which attracted orders of 400 percent of the target of $2.3 billion, “demonstrating strong investor confidence in our macroeconomic reforms.”
Nigeria also exited the Financial Action Task Force, FATF, Grey List in 2025, “reflecting sustained and coordinated reforms in combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other financial crimes, and marking the start of a new reputational and operational chapter for our financial sector,” Idris explained.
President Tinubu recapitalised the Bank of Agriculture with N1.5 trillion in 2025, which Idris described as “the biggest single boost to agriculture financing in our recent history.”
On infrastructure, government reported progress. “We committed to deploying over N1.5 trillion in investments in road infrastructure in 2025 alone, the largest such commitment in our nation’s history; based on our firm belief that an economy cannot grow faster than the infrastructure that supports it. At the heart of this effort are our Four Legacy Highway Projects, engineered to connect every region and unlock new economic corridors:
The 750-kilometer Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, linking our entire southern coastline; the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, bridging the North-West to the South-West; the 477-kilometre Trans-Saharan Highway, traversing from Calabar to the FCT; and the 422-kilometre Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Expressway, integrating the North-Central and North-East.
“These are not conventional roads. They are being built with reinforced concrete pavement designed to last 50 to 100 years, drastically cutting future maintenance costs and promoting local content,” explained Mohammed.
On empowering the next generation, the government reported visible investments: The Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) supported over 788,000 Nigerian students with interest-free loans and stipends amounting to over N150 billion.
The Government’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme officially started in 2025, “with an anchor investment in a new multi-million-dollar venture fund that will support the creative and digital entrepreneurship aspirations of young Nigerians.”
The Government also launched the Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG), offering equity-free financing of up to ₦50 million for undergraduate innovators in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) disciplines, across accredited tertiary institutions. With this new intervention, we are nurturing the seeds of entrepreneurship in our campuses and turning our brightest minds into job creators, not just job seekers.
The Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme made significant progress during the year, as it builds Africa’s largest digital army.
A New Security Architecture
In the security sector, the Minister said the presidential declaration of nationwide security emergency targets a massive recruitment into the Armed Forces and Police Force, and the deployment of trained and equipped Forest Guards “to secure our forests and other vulnerable locations.”
“We have also established, in 2025, a new national counterterrorism doctrine, anchored on four critical pillars: unified command, intelligence, community stability, and counterinsurgency. Let me be clear about what this means: That henceforth, any armed group that kidnaps our children, attacks our farmers, or terrorises our communities is officially classified and will be dealt with as a terrorist organisation. The era of ambiguous nomenclature is over!”
In the media, information and communications space, this year, Idris said Nigeria secured the hosting rights for both the 2026 World Public Relations Forum (WPRF) and the 2026 African Public Relations Association (APRA) Conference. We made history by becoming only the second African country ever to host the WPRF, and the first ever to host both the APRA Conference and the WPRF in the same year.
“We also received official affirmation from UNESCO of the hosting right granted to Nigeria for the world’s first Media & Information Literacy (MIL) Institute, and I am delighted to note that the Institute will officially take off in the first quarter of 2026.”
He said the 2026 Budget of N58.18 trillion is a blueprint for security and prosperity. “Just last week, to end the year on a high note, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, aptly named “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity.”
The highlights of the budget include: The largest ever capital expenditure allocation of ₦26.08 trillion for tangible infrastructure, roads, rail, power, and ports
- The single biggest allocation of N5.41 trillion is to Defence and Security, a direct investment in protecting lives, property, and prosperity, through modern equipment for our armed forces, new national intelligence architecture, and a secure digital border surveillance system.
- This budget is funded by prudent assumptions: oil at $64.85/barrel, production at 1.84 million barrels/day, and an exchange rate of N1,400/$.
“We will fund the deficit through an aggressive, digitised revenue mobilisation drive, ensuring that every liable entity pays its fair share, without imposing unfair burdens on anyone,” the Minister explained.
On simultaneous multiple budget cycles implementation, President Tinubu is said to have promised that “2026 will see a full unification of our existing budget cycles, and we will henceforth operate on a single unified budget that is backed by a single revenue cycle. That budget sets the stage for a year in which the landmark new Tax Reform Laws will go into operation, ushering in an era of fiscal growth and a deepening of the social contract between the government and the people. We call for the understanding of Nigerians in this regard, as it promises a new era of accountability in revenue generation and government expenditure.”
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