By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna As preparations intensify for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (Ff...
By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna
As preparations intensify for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), scheduled for June 30, 2025, in Seville, Spain, Nigerian civil society organisations are calling for bold global reforms and urgent domestic action to address persistent financing challenges across the Global South.
This call is articulated in a new advocacy paper titled “Financing for Development in Nigeria: Sectoral Context and Insights for the Fourth International Conference.” The report was developed by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) in collaboration with Oxfam in Nigeria, Christian Aid, International Budget Partnership, Tax Justice & Governance Platform, Connected Development, and other partners under the Africa Agenda on Financing for Development (Agenda Afrique).
The report presents a sobering overview of Nigeria’s development trajectory, warning that the country faces a “multidimensional financing gap” driven by underperforming domestic resource mobilization, inequitable global financial rules, and growing climate vulnerability.
Key sectors—education, health, agriculture, and climate resilience—remain severely underfunded. “Education spending falls below UNESCO benchmarks, health expenditure remains under 4% of GDP, and the country loses over $18 billion annually to illicit financial flows,” the report states. “Meanwhile, Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio now exceeds 70 percent, leaving limited fiscal space for human capital investment.”
While global frameworks such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063, ECOWAS Vision 2050, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a roadmap for development, the report argues that the real barrier lies in implementation. It cites corruption, poor budget execution, outdated data, and weak public financial systems as ongoing obstacles.
The lack of measurable development blueprints in many Nigerian states, it adds, further hampers efforts to track progress or attract meaningful investment. “Without decisive action to close these financing gaps at both national and sub-national levels, Nigeria will continue to fall behind,” it warns.
Nigeria is also using the FfD4 platform to advocate for sweeping reforms in the international financial architecture. Key demands include changes to global tax rules, improved access to climate finance, and new concessional financing frameworks tailored to countries with large populations living in poverty.
“We urge the international community to prioritise loss and damage financing, equitable access to green investments, and reform of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to better support middle-income countries facing high poverty burdens,” the paper states.
Domestically, the report outlines strategic recommendations to strengthen Nigeria’s financial resilience. These include digitizing tax systems to ensure fair taxation, simplifying trade processes to spur industrialization, launching anti-corruption and asset recovery campaigns, and establishing development finance facilities to de-risk private investment in infrastructure and social services.
It also proposes institutionalising peer learning platforms to encourage innovation in sub-national financing strategies.
The report draws urgent attention to Nigeria’s worsening brain drain. “The continued migration of Nigeria’s skilled workforce, especially young professionals, is directly linked to the lack of inclusive economic opportunities at home. If we fail to invest in youth-centred policies and job creation, our best minds will continue to seek prosperity elsewhere.”
As the global community prepares for FfD4, Nigeria is positioning itself to play a leadership role in shaping a more equitable and accountable international financial system.
“This moment is pivotal,” the report concludes. “As the world gathers to renew its financing commitments, Nigeria stands ready to champion equity, accountability, and inclusion in global development finance. The upcoming FfD4 conference presents a critical opportunity to unlock the investments needed for a just and resilient future.”
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