28 states benefit from FG’s $68m business reform fund
By Tunde Opalana
Twenty – eight states across the country have drawn from a pool of $68 million business reform initiative by the Federal Government.
The initiative which is part of the economic reformation programmes of the Tinubu administration focus on easing doing business and attracting foreign investment in local economic activities.
To ensure proper implementation to the letters, the government has engaged an independent verification firm to monitor utilization of the funds in the states.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya who disclosed this said the initiative is under the States Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER).
She added that SABER is funded by a $750 million loan initiative supported by the World Bank.
Jafiya told the audience at the 2025 National Sensitisation Workshop on the SABER Programme in Abuja on Wednesday that while 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory signed the subsidiary loan agreement, 28 states have so far been credited with funds ranging from $1 million to $4 million.
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According to the Permanent Secretary, effective utilisation of the funds will enable beneficiary states to “implement and monitor key business reforms in their states”.
She said “these reforms are targeted at improving business competitiveness in Nigeria, attracting investment into the local economy and streamlining regulations to help businesses thrive”.
Jafiya said the initiative has improved transparency through the State Fiscal, Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability Programme.
