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The state of public infrastructures in Nigeria has been described by many scholars as very deplorable. The study which focused on the Nigerian economy aimed to examine the public infrastructures funding models in Nigeria, their effectiveness and suggest an alternative model to maximize public infrastructure development. The opportunities offered by the PPPs, bond and equity markets to fund infrastructural projects are massive in terms of limitless funds, expertise and timely completion of projects. A hybrid funding model that makes a right combination of PPPs, debts and equity could be less expensive than when the public infrastructures are funded wholly from PPP or debts. The government’s aim of funding any particular public infrastructures could be for some socio-economic reasons with direct or indirect impacts on economic development, job creation, ease of doing business, security, welfare, standard of living and government popularity but the aim of the private sector whether the funding comes in the form of PPP, debts (bonds) or equity is wealth maximization. The government is advised to seek more funding opportunities outside its internally generated revenue and federal allocation sources but this should be done with caution to strike a positive and favourable balance between its socio-economic aims and the wealth maximization objective of the private sector who intend to fund the public infrastructures. Keywords: Economic growth and development, capital market, funding models, government, bond, PPP, poverty, Public infrastructure, security JEL Classification: H54, I30, J68, L33

The Nigerian economy has witnessed consistent average annual growth rate of 7.4% in the last few years, however, the impact of the growth on the citizenry remains insignificant while poverty, youth restlessness, kidnapping for ransoms, terrorism and other vices are on the rise. The objective of the study was to examine why the impact of the economic growth over the years has remained insignificant and what interventions are required to change the tide. The study discovered that the oil sector which is not labour intensive accounts for over eighty (80) percent of Government revenue and a major contributor to the nation GDP. The study also discovered that the poverty level and unemployment rate among the populace require urgent and drastic measures. The impactful measures will require creation of enabling environment, provision of relevant infrastructure and adequate funding programmes that can be easily accessed. The financial system like in any other economy is essential to attaining inclusive economic growth in Nigeria and it should be more supportive to the economy by abolishing existing lending conditions that make it impractically impossible for many MSMEs which are the engine of economic development to access funds.