China provides Nigeria $30m grant for grassroots initiatives

Nigeria and China have signed a grant settlement value RMB 200 million, about $30 million, to fund community-level growth initiatives throughout the nation.

The settlement was signed on Thursday on the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in Abuja.

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, and Chinese Ambassador Yu Dunhai led the ceremony, alongside the Minister of State, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, and the Permanent Secretary, Dr Deborah Odoh.

The cash will go to initiatives underneath China’s “small but beautiful” initiative, which favours investments with sensible outcomes and direct group influence.

Bagudu stated the precedence was to make sure the commitments translate into measurable outcomes for Nigerians.

He stated the ministry, working with the Nigeria–China Strategic Partnership Office, is creating initiatives proposed by states to deal with particular native wants.

He famous that the grant builds on a $1 million Chinese contribution earlier this yr to strengthen Nigeria’s technological and information capability.

The minister additionally introduced the Renewed Hope Ward Development Plan, which seeks to establish financial alternatives and map economically lively folks throughout the nation’s 8,809 wards. He stated Nigeria wish to share the plan with China and draw on its poverty-reduction expertise, and harassed the necessity to prepare extra Nigerian officers in China.

Yu described the grant as a concrete demonstration of Beijing’s dedication to Nigeria’s growth priorities.

He stated it advances the consensus reached by Presidents Bola Tinubu and Xi Jinping and the outcomes of the Fourth China–Nigeria Cooperation Forum in Beijing.

He added that 2026 marks 55 years of diplomatic relations between each international locations.

The ambassador additionally spoke on commerce. He stated China’s zero-tariff coverage on Nigerian exports, which took impact on 1 May 2026, may widen market entry, appeal to funding and push Nigerian merchandise up the worth chain. He stated bilateral commerce reportedly reached $18 billion within the first half of the yr, whereas Nigeria’s exports to China rose by 80 per cent.

He warned, nevertheless, that the association expires on 1 May 2028.

He urged each international locations to make use of the remaining interval to barter an financial growth partnership settlement that will lock within the features, and referred to as on the finances ministry and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to advance the talks.

Odoh welcomed the grant as a present of confidence in Nigeria’s growth priorities. She counseled the Chinese Embassy and the related ministries, departments and businesses, significantly the International Cooperation and Legal Departments, for concluding the settlement.

The ministry stated it might work with Chinese companions to make sure the initiatives are applied transparently and effectively.