China grants Nigeria $30m for grassroots development projects

The Federal Government has signed a $30m grant agreement with China to finance community-based development projects across Nigeria as part of efforts to reduce poverty, improve livelihoods and expand economic opportunities at the grassroots.

The agreement, valued at RMB200m, was signed on Thursday at the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in Abuja, according to a statement issued by the ministry on Sunday.

The ministry stated, “Nigeria and China have signed a grant agreement worth RMB200m (approximately $30m) to support community-focused development projects under the Nigeria–China Development Cooperation, reinforcing the two countries’ longstanding strategic partnership.”

The grant will finance mutually agreed projects under China’s “small but beautiful” initiative, which prioritises relatively small-scale interventions designed to deliver direct benefits to local communities.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, said the partnership would “support Nigeria’s development priorities through targeted investments, knowledge exchange and institutional cooperation.”

He explained that the ministry was “working with the Nigeria–China Strategic Partnership Office to develop projects proposed by state governments to address specific community needs.”

Bagudu stressed that the priority was to ensure that bilateral agreements produced measurable improvements in people’s living conditions rather than remaining diplomatic commitments.

The minister also highlighted the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Ward Development Plan, which seeks to identify economic opportunities and economically active residents across Nigeria’s 8,809 wards.

According to him, the initiative would support targeted development interventions, particularly in underserved communities, while providing opportunities to draw lessons from China’s experience in poverty reduction.

The latest grant follows an earlier $1m contribution from China in 2026 to strengthen Nigeria’s technological and knowledge development capacity.

Bagudu also identified the training of Nigerian officials in China as an important component of bilateral cooperation, saying capacity building would improve the country’s ability to implement development programmes.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, described the agreement as a “demonstration of China’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s economic and social development.”

He said the grant followed agreements reached between Presidents Bola Tinubu and Xi Jinping during their meeting in China and subsequent bilateral engagements.

Dunhai also disclosed that trade between Nigeria and China reached $18bn in the first half of 2026, while Nigerian exports to China increased by 80 per cent.

He attributed emerging trade opportunities partly to China’s zero-tariff policy on Nigerian exports, which took effect on May 1, 2026.

The ambassador said the arrangement could improve market access for Nigerian products, attract investment and encourage domestic processing and industrial development.

However, he warned that the current zero-tariff arrangement was scheduled to expire on May 1, 2028, urging both countries to pursue a longer-term economic development partnership agreement.

He called on the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to advance discussions on the proposed framework.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Deborah Odoh, welcomed the grant and commended the institutions involved in concluding the agreement.

The ministry pledged to work with Chinese authorities and relevant Nigerian institutions to ensure transparent and efficient implementation of the projects.

The agreement comes as Nigeria and China mark 55 years of diplomatic relations in 2026, with both countries seeking to deepen cooperation in trade, investment and grassroots development.