The federal government has announced plans to create a deal room to connect with investors and eliminate regulatory bottlenecks.
Taiwo Oyedele, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, announced the plan on Monday while speaking on land reform as a major opportunity for economic growth at the opening ceremony of Invest Lagos 3.0, themed “Lagos: Business Gateway to Africa”.
He noted that simplifying land titling processes could unlock deep capital trapped in real estate and property taxation.
“We need to move beyond conversation to real deals and transaction. Reforms, however, only clear the paths. It is investment, enterprise, and jobs that create true prosperity,” the minister said.
“Too often, brilliant opportunities are known but insufficiently prepared. Investors are highly interested but cannot navigate the entry points. Projects exist, but they are not bankable or investment-ready.”
To address the challenge, Oyedele said the ministry of finance is establishing a Nigerian deal room to transition from conversation to actual transaction.
“The platform will serve as a coordinated pipeline to identify strategic projects, eliminate regulatory bottlenecks, reduce investment risk premium, and directly connect credible capital with investment ready opportunities,” the minister said.
He described Nigeria as one of the world’s most compelling long-term investment destinations and urged sovereign wealth funds, development finance institutions, private equity firms, pension funds and other investors to take advantage of opportunities in the country.
“We possess a young, hyper-digital, and deeply enterprising population. We represent a dominant and core market for continent integrating under the African continental free trade area,” Oyedele said.
“When you invest in the Nigerian states, you are investing in the future of African commerce.”
The minister also said the federal government is committed to crowding in private capital, assuring investors that their long-term capital is protected.
The minister said the federal government’s goal is not to increase taxes but to tax smarter.
He said the government is simplifying Nigeria’s tax system by consolidating multiple taxes and levies into a more streamlined framework.
The minister said reforms to the value-added tax (VAT) system now allow full input tax credits for investments, while incentives have been introduced for priority sectors.
The tax reform programme, he added, also includes the establishment of the office of the tax ombud for taxpayer protection.
“Let me emphasise that our goal is not to tax more,” Oyedele said.
“It is to tax smarter, raising our tax to GDP ratio from just about 10 percent a couple of years ago to at least 18 percent over the next three years by stimulating economic activities and expanding the informal sector to formalise rather than suppressing economic activities.”
The minister said the new tax reform laws are also designed to empower subnational governments by increasing their share of VAT revenues, assigning stamp duty proceeds to states, and granting tax exemptions on state government bonds to support infrastructure financing.
