German lawmakers visiting Nigeria want to connect development assistance more closely with private investment, with talks covering technical training, renewable energy, healthcare and cooperation between universities.
Dr Wolfgang Stefinger, chairman of the Bundestag’s Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development, leads the delegation. The German parliament’s published programme places the visit between 25 and 31 October, with engagements involving public institutions, businesses and development organisations.
At meetings in Lagos covered by Arise News, members of the delegation and German officials outlined areas where they hoped to expand existing cooperation with Nigeria.
Stefinger described Nigeria as a country with which Germany wanted closer economic and development relations.
“Nigeria is a very important partner for Germany,” he said.
Prime 9ja Online reports that the discussions brought together questions about investment, the skills needed to support projects and the relationships between institutions in both countries.
German Consul General in Lagos Daniel Krull said Germany had projects worth more than €700 million underway in Nigeria. He said officials wanted stronger connections between German companies’ investments and the objectives of development assistance, according to Arise News’s account of the Lagos engagements.
Krull linked that approach to the “impact we try to achieve with our development aid money”.
He cited electricity projects as an area where investment and training needed to work together. Delivering infrastructure, he said, also required electricians and other workers with the skills to operate and maintain it.
Krull pointed to German support for training in Abeokuta, Ogun State, connected to Siemens Energy’s work under Nigeria’s Presidential Power Initiative and the needs of other companies.
The SEED training programme provides one example of that cooperation. FGN Power Company says the initiative aims to train, certify and place 6,000 energy professionals across Nigeria over five years.
Siemens Energy, FGN Power Company and Germany’s development agency GIZ jointly implement the programme in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power. The European Union and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development provide co-funding.
Academic exchanges formed another part of the discussions, with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) highlighting its support for Nigerian scholars and partnerships between universities.
Dr Gerald Heusing, DAAD’s lecturer at the University of Lagos, said the organisation awarded “almost 3,000 scholarships for Nigerians” in 2025. He also put the number of Nigerian–German university partnerships receiving its support at around a dozen.
Heusing said he wanted the relationships established through scholarships to continue as recipients advanced in their academic careers. He identified future roles in teaching, departmental leadership and university administration as opportunities to sustain collaboration.
Among the partnerships he highlighted was cooperation between the University of Lagos and the Free University of Berlin on urban development, according to Arise News’s report on the academic and business discussions. The report also noted workshops, outreach and advice for prospective applicants through the DAAD alumni network.
The delegation’s contacts extended to businesses, financial institutions and young professionals developing enterprises in Nigeria.
Christoph Naser, a member of the visiting group, said those meetings offered opportunities to establish relationships between people and institutions in the two countries. He identified economic cooperation, scientific exchange and cultural contacts as areas of interest.
The Lagos programme also included a performance by the Crown Troupe of Africa. Arise News reported that the troupe used dance and drama to address young Nigerians’ ambitions and questions surrounding employment, entrepreneurship and access to opportunities.
Beyond the Lagos engagements, the Bundestag’s itinerary provides for talks with members of Nigeria’s National Assembly, government representatives, political foundations and civil society organisations. It also includes exchanges with GIZ and the development bank KfW.
The parliamentary programme identifies the Siemens SEED project in Abeokuta as a focus for examining partnerships between German and Nigerian businesses. Other subjects include technological and digital training at the University of Lagos, urban development at Eko Atlantic City and the work of the Centre for Migration and Development.
The Bundestag said its members intended to use information gathered during the visit to inform their work on German development policy.