Bridging the $300b #infrastructure #gap with Islamic finance

In #Nigeria about $300 billion (N108.75 trillion) is required to close the country's infrastructure gap. To close the gap, the Federal Government has turned to the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). Some financial analysts are warning that this is capable of undermining the nation’s constitution and its secularity. While insisting on the need to defend Nigeria’s secularity, some of them pointed out that there are other viable options and numerous non-religious lending institutions Nigeria can turn to for help. For example, public affairs analyst, Barr Obiora Akabogu, said Nigeria could fall back on the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) to raise cash. Nigeria’s pension fund, which stood at N6.02 trillion as at last November, is another viable option to build infrastructure. Others have recommended the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for designing, building, financing and operating new infrastructure.