The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, says the President Bola Tinubu-led administration has attracted over $450 million into the development of Nigeria’s Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, value chain.
Idris stated this during his remarks at the Nigeria Public Relations Week (NPRW 2025) on Tuesday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.
The event with the theme, “Harnessing Public Relations for Nigeria’s Economic Renaissance,” was organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) with support from stakeholders.
Idris explained that Tinubu was able to achieve that through the Presidential CNG Initiative.
“Pragmatic look at the Tinubu administration’s performance suggests a definite road to Nigeria’s economic renaissance, largely based on fiscal, macroeconomic and legislative reforms.
“To accelerate Nigeria’s capacity for development across all six regions of the country, the Tinubu-administration created the Ministry of Regional Development and consequently regional development commissions.
“As the nation moves towards green energy in transportation and machinery, the Tinubu administration has directly invested and attracted over $450 million into the development of Nigeria’s CNG value chain.
“This has helped unlock additional private sector financing, and the results are emerging speedily: from seven CNG conversion centers in Nigeria in 2023, we now have over 150 across the country and counting,” Idris said.
The minister further explained that, with the creation of the Ministry of Livestock Development, the administration intended for Nigerians to harness what was potentially a multi-billion-dollar agricultural opportunity.
He added that such opportunity could transform rural communities, enrich and empower millions of Nigerians, including women and youth, even as the Bank of Agriculture was being revamped.
“Again, I make bold to say that Nigeria’s contemporary history will record the advent of the National Students Loan Fund.
“This is a major milestone which so far has benefitted more than 300,000 Nigerian youths in tuition and upkeep fees.
“Indeed, through this, a major stumbling block to tertiary education enrolment and completion has been removed by President Tinubu,” he said.
Idris further stated that for the first time ever, Nigerians could access credit facilities to pursue their individual and corporate needs in the areas of car acquisition, healthcare, housing, etc., through the CreditCorp.
According to him, this is in addition to the earmarking of about N200 billion for economic assistance to Nigerian nano businesses, small and medium enterprises, and big manufacturing companies.
In the area of infrastructure, especially roads, Idris maintained that the country had seen neglect over the years.
According to him, President Tinubu understands that, like all known economic renaissance elsewhere, adequate road infrastructure is critical to the growth and development of society.
“Today, Nigeria is a vast construction site, with over N2.5 trillion worth of road infrastructure projects approved this year alone, the highest ever in Nigeria’s history.
“The government is linking cities through signature projects such as the Lagos-Calabar and Badagry to Sokoto Super Highways, and in all parts of the country.
“More so, there are several other projects ongoing works as we speak; from the Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries that have come back to life, to the approval of N80 billion for the reconstruction of the failed Alau Dam in Borno.
“There is also the progress on the construction of the Kano-Kaduna Standard Gauge Railway Line.
“No part of Nigeria has been left behind in this massive allocation of infrastructure investments under President Tinubu, who has now been described as ‘The Road Master,” Idris said.
NAN