Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Prof. Taiwo Oyedele, has urged the international community to expand access to affordable capital for financing infrastructure and development across Africa.
Oyedele made the appeal while speaking at the United Nations Dialogue on Solutions to Climate Finance, held on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
He said Africa’s development goals, especially in energy, remain hampered by high financing costs, currency risks and limited access to affordable long-term capital.
Despite contributing relatively little to global carbon emissions, the Minister said, African nations continue to face what he called a “prejudice premium” and “narrative cost” when seeking financing for essential infrastructure.
He also pointed to currency risk and a “stereotype tax” as further obstacles African countries face in raising capital for energy and other development projects.
Oyedele called for a fundamental shift in climate finance strategy, favoring simpler access to affordable capital and financing structures that better match the realities developing countries face.
He also pressed the international community to invest more heavily in gas and other transition energy sources on the continent, arguing this would expand access to reliable, affordable power and help close the global energy poverty gap.
Greater investment in Africa’s energy sector, he added, would also diversify global energy supply and reduce risks tied to disruptions in the Gulf region.
The Minister, in a statement on Wednesday by the Head information and Public Relations of the Ministry, Efe Ovuakporie, emphasized that any energy transition for Africa must account for the continent’s substantial energy-access shortfall, calling for increased investment to let countries meet development needs while still moving toward cleaner energy.
Turning to Nigeria specifically, Oyedele said the government’s immediate focus is on structuring policies that reduce poverty, expand economic opportunity and speed up the distribution of shared prosperity.
He said meeting these goals would depend on stronger international cooperation and a financing framework that allows developing nations to mobilize the capital needed for infrastructure and improved living standards.
