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How We Unlock Infrastructure Funding Through Sukuk Bond–Finance Minister

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed  has said that since it was created in September 2017 as an investment instrument to finance infrastructure, over N612.5bn has been invested in the Federal Government’s Sukuk Bond.

She said this in Abuja at a town hall meeting where she spoke on the achievements of the Federal Government in infrastructure development in Nigeria.

She said since the debut of the N100bn Sovereign Sukuk in September 2017, the Debt Management Office has issued three more, with the financing platform getting better each time.

Since the emergence of Sukuk as a financing window for infrastructure in September 2017, the minister said a total of N362.56bn has been given to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to fund key road projects.

According to her, the first Sukuk of N100bn was deployed to 25 roads and it delivered a total of N482 km; the second Sukuk in 2018 was deployed to 28 roads and it delivered a total of 643 km; the third was issued in 2020 where N162bn was deployed to 44 roads and delivered 757 km.

She said the proceeds of the N250bn Sukuk bond, fourth in its series, with a 10-year tenure, would be used to finance the rehabilitation and reconstruction of road projects across the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory.

The N250bn Sukuk, which opened on December 16, 2021 and closed on December 23, 2021, was oversubscribed by 346 per cent.

The Federal Ministry of Works & Housing, Federal Capital Territory Administratio and Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs shared the Sukuk issue proceeds of N250bn with the ministries receiving N210.56bn, N29bn and N10.44bn respectively.

She gave some of the road projects funded with Sukuk bond, to include dualisation of Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road, Suleja-Minna road in Niger State, Lokoja- Benin road, Kano-Maiduguri road, and Lokoja-Benin road among others.

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