Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund Hits $2bn

Chief executive officer of NSIA, Uche Orji, who gave the hint in Astana, the Kazakhstan’s capital, noted that government’s contribution stands at $1.5 billion, while the rest include funds owned by the institution and those managed for several government agencies.

The authority has revamped 11 fertilizer-blending plants so far this year as part of federal government’s initiative to boost farming output and reduce the economy’s dependence on oil, which contributes two-thirds of government revenue.

“At the moment, agriculture is our number one area of investment”, Orji said, adding that the NSIA is planning to rehabilitate another nine fertilizer-blending plants within a year.

The 11 plants delivered six million bags of fertilizer at 30 per cent below market prices, halting government subsidies, even as the project created 50,000 jobs and saved the government N50 billion ($139 million) that would have gone into subsidies this year.