Unified FX Regime Stabilising Public Finances, FG Claims

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…Says It Is Helping States Unlock, Deploy Resources

ABUJA – Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that the Federal Government has been able to unify and liberalise the for­eign exchange market, including ending distortions that for too long frightened away serious investors, and put public finances on a more honest footing.

He said President Bola Tinubu adopt­ed some of these strategies to improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria.

According to him, through the Presi­dential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) as well as the bold structural and fiscal reforms, the Federal Government has replaced gatekeeping with partnership that has enabled the subnationals to unlock their economic potential.

Shettima, who stated this on Wednes­day when he declared open the Jigawa State Investment Summit 2026, in Dutse, the state capital, noted that across the federation, the President Tinubu-led Federal Government has taken difficult but necessary decisions to put the economy back on a path of sustainable growth.

“On our part, we have made it easier to do business in Nigeria. Through the Presidential En­abling Business Environment Council, we have simplified registrations and permits, and brought the cost and time of starting and running a business steadily down. The Business Facilitation Act has given these reforms the force of law, binding our agencies to transparency, pre­dictability and speed.

The vice president observed that even though it had been a journey for which patience is required, the outcomes indicate that it is paying off, as the curren­cy markets are now functioning more transparently, and reserves are now firmer.

He said for the first time in over ten years, the world’s lead­ing rating agencies have started raising Nigeria’s sovereign cred­it standing, while the reforms at the centre are helping the states to unlock and deploy resources prudently.

Explaining how the admin­istration’s reforms have opened the strategic sectors of the econ­omy to private capital, VP Shet­tima cited the Electricity Act 2023, which he said “stands as a consequential reform, devolving real power to the states to license, generate and distribute electrici­ty, and inviting investors to build the power infrastructure our in­dustries and homes so urgently need.

“From power to agriculture, from solid minerals to the digi­tal economy, we have replaced gatekeeping with partnership. And we have redirected the sav­ings from hard reform toward the things that build a nation, into infrastructure, into human capital, and into support for our most vulnerable citizens, so that growth, when it comes, is felt in the household and not only in the headline,” he added.

Senator Shettima acknowl­edged, however, that reform at the centre would make little or no impact if it does not reach the states, noting that it is the reason why the Federal Government, through the National Economic Council and the Federal Exec­utive Council, has prioritised healthy debates and delibera­tions to harmonise ideas for the nation’s economic direction.

The healthy debates, he not­ed, are aimed at strengthening the fiscal health and transparen­cy of states, “to help them unlock and deploy resources prudently, to channel support toward ag­riculture, food security and the protection of our environment and livelihoods, and to open doors for sub-national govern­ments to access development finance and climate finance on fair terms.”

Acknowledging that Jigawa State had been “a place of im­mense economic opportunities and untapped potential”, the vice president said the investment summit is an assurance of the efforts and readiness of the state governor, Mallam Umar Nama­di, “to revitalise the investment ecosystem of the state.”

While wooing both local and foreign investors, the VP reminded them “that the Fed­eral Government has done the hard work of reform, and that, in partnership with the Jigawa State government,” the Tinubu administration is convinced that the promise of Jigawa State “is one of high yields.

“We will be here to offer support and to ensure that you experience no bureaucratic bot­tlenecks in setting up here and enjoying the dividends of cour­age,” he assured.

Earlier, the governor of Jiga­wa State, Namadi, explained that the summit was designed as a working platform to move the state beyond aspiration to disciplined execution, creating viable and valuable opportunities for investors.

Namadi reaffirmed confi­dence in Jigawa’s capacity to achieve sustainable prosperity through vision, credible invest­ment and purposeful partner­ship.

He said Jigawa has over 24,700 square meters of fertile arable land, including more than 411,000 hectares of Fadama suitable for a year round farming, with water and irrigation assets, welcoming business climate, capable and hardworking population as well as access to market across north­ern Nigeria and neighbouring Niger Republic along the ancient Tran-Saharan corridor.

“Our development direction is anchored on Jigawa vision and our 12 Points Agenda with prior­ities that include agricultural transformation, infrastructure, energy, the digital economy, pri­vate sector growths, revenue expansion, security, social pro­tection, health, education and vocational skills development,” the governor said.