The Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the United Nations Development Programme have deepened their collaboration to attract sustainable investment and strengthen state-level economies across Nigeria.

The NGF disclosed this in a statement on Thursday. It said that the commitment was made during a visit by a high-level UNDP delegation, led by Ms Elsie Attafuah, UNDP resident representative in Nigeria, to the NGF secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday.

It also said that the focus of the visit was on unlocking innovative financing models to help subnational governments mobilise investments and bridge critical infrastructure and fiscal capacity gaps across the 36 states.

It noted that both institutions agreed to formalise their partnership through a memorandum of understanding. The MoU, according to the statement, would define technical assistance and pilot interventions in select states.

It said that the collaboration would specifically focus on developing a subnational development finance lab, a public-private partnership competency framework, and a state investment readiness index to benchmark competitiveness.

The NGF director-general, Abdulateef Shittu, described the engagement as “a timely step in deepening Nigeria’s subnational development agenda”.

“We value UNDP’s partnership in helping states become more competitive and investment-ready. Our goal is to create a pathway where subnational governments can independently attract, manage, and sustain investments that directly impact lives and livelihoods,” he said

Mr Shittu highlighted the NGF’s recent inauguration of Investopedia, a digital investment intelligence platform that aggregates over 269 investment-ready projects across the states, as proof that states are “ready, willing, and able to lead the country’s transformation”.

Mr Shittu expressed confidence that the partnership would be catalytic, enabling subnational governments to become key drivers of Nigeria’s development narrative.

(NAN)