Reforms needed to build $1tn economy, Tinubu explains economic hardship
President Bola Tinubu has again defended his administration’s economic reforms as needed steps towards building a $1tn economy by 2030.
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, who represented Tinubu at the second edition of the Asiwaju Scorecard Series and Policy Roundtable in Abuja on Tuesday, said the reforms had strengthened the foundation for economic stability and growth, citing improved foreign reserves, revenue mobilisation, trade and gross domestic product.
This is against submissions by opposition party figures who contend that the reforms have worsened the economic situation of citizens.
But Tinubu, represented by Yilwatda, said the economic reforms introduced by his administration had placed Nigeria on the path to achieving a $1tn economy by 2030.
He said the reforms had strengthened the foundation for economic stability, growth and prosperity.
The President said the removal of fuel subsidy and reforms in the foreign exchange market, alongside increased revenue mobilisation and investments in critical infrastructure, were necessary to move the country away from years of economic uncertainty and towards sustainable growth.
“When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office on 29 May 2023, Nigeria faced a difficult economic inheritance. We had fuel subsidy distortions, multiple exchange-rate windows, weak revenue mobilisation, foreign-exchange shortages, rising debt-service pressures and years of inadequate investment in critical infrastructure.
“The President understood that Nigeria could not continue on that trajectory and therefore took difficult decisions, including the removal of the fuel subsidy and the reform of the foreign-exchange market.
“The evidence increasingly shows that the foundation is strengthening. Nigeria’s gross external reserves have risen to about $52.7bn by August 2026.
“Consolidated non-oil revenue increased from approximately N13.63tn in 2023 to N16.4tn in the first two quarters of 2026, demonstrating the growing contribution of non-oil sources to government revenue.
“Our trade position has also improved dramatically: from a merchandise trade surplus of only about N44.8bn for the whole of 2023 to approximately N7.54tn in the first quarter of 2026 alone.
“Real GDP grew by 4.43 per cent in Q2 2026, while inflation has fallen significantly from its earlier peak to about 15.4 per cent.
“These figures do not mean that our economic challenges have disappeared, but they demonstrate that the direction of travel has changed.
“And let me emphasise: macroeconomic stability is not the destination; it is the foundation. The ultimate test is when stability translates into cheaper food, more jobs, affordable credit, reliable electricity and greater purchasing power for Nigerians,” Yilwatda said on Tinubu’s behalf.
Speaking on the $1tn economy, Tinubu said: “It is not merely a number, but a national mission: a Nigeria that produces more, exports more, attracts more investment, creates more jobs and gives its young people a greater stake in the future.”
He said Nigeria’s $1tn economy ambition requires adequate infrastructure, stressing that the Renewed Hope Agenda prioritises roads, rail, ports, energy and digital connectivity.
The President added, “Nigeria must now take full advantage of its enormous maritime opportunity by developing an integrated five-port maritime and logistics corridor.
“Our strategic ambition should be to develop and connect five major deep-sea ports at Lagos, Ondo, Ibom, Port Harcourt and Calabar, linking them by modern rail and road infrastructure, with the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Super Highway serving as the principal coastal road spine. But the vision does not stop at the coastline.
“The Western Corridor will connect the maritime gateways to the interior through the Lagos–Abuja–Kaduna–Kano rail corridor, complemented by the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, thereby opening a direct trade route from the Atlantic coast to the markets of the Northwest and the Sahel.
“The Eastern Corridor will similarly connect the eastern maritime gateways through the Port Harcourt–Abuja–Kaduna–Kano rail corridor, complemented by the proposed Calabar–Maiduguri Trans-Sahara Super Highway, creating a second major east-to-north trade route.
“In this way, Nigeria can create an integrated national transport system in which our five deep-sea ports are connected, connected to our major cities and production centres, and connected ultimately to the landlocked markets of Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Sudan and the Central African Republic.”
He further stated, “This is how Nigeria can move beyond being simply a coastal trading nation to becoming the maritime gateway and logistics hub of West and Central Africa, capturing a much larger share of the continent’s trade, logistics, manufacturing and distribution value chain.
“That is more than transportation infrastructure, but a trade architecture. It would generate opportunities in logistics, warehousing, freight forwarding, customs, banking, insurance, manufacturing, distribution and agro-processing. It would create jobs, generate foreign exchange and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a regional commercial hub.”
Tinubu said Nigeria must develop industrial parks, export-processing zones, logistics hubs, agro-processing clusters and manufacturing centres along major transport corridors.
He said linking rail lines to agricultural and mineral-producing areas would attract processing and manufacturing industries, turning infrastructure into an engine of economic growth.
Reforms needed to build $1tn economy, Tinubu explains economic hardship
President Bola Tinubu has again defended his administration’s economic reforms as needed steps towards building a $1tn economy by 2030.
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, who represented Tinubu at the second edition of the Asiwaju Scorecard Series and Policy Roundtable in Abuja on Tuesday, said the reforms had strengthened the foundation for economic stability and growth, citing improved foreign reserves, revenue mobilisation, trade and gross domestic product.
This is against submissions by opposition party figures who contend that the reforms have worsened the economic situation of citizens.
But Tinubu, represented by Yilwatda, said the economic reforms introduced by his administration had placed Nigeria on the path to achieving a $1tn economy by 2030.
He said the reforms had strengthened the foundation for economic stability, growth and prosperity.
The President said the removal of fuel subsidy and reforms in the foreign exchange market, alongside increased revenue mobilisation and investments in critical infrastructure, were necessary to move the country away from years of economic uncertainty and towards sustainable growth.
“When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office on 29 May 2023, Nigeria faced a difficult economic inheritance. We had fuel subsidy distortions, multiple exchange-rate windows, weak revenue mobilisation, foreign-exchange shortages, rising debt-service pressures and years of inadequate investment in critical infrastructure.
“The President understood that Nigeria could not continue on that trajectory and therefore took difficult decisions, including the removal of the fuel subsidy and the reform of the foreign-exchange market.
“The evidence increasingly shows that the foundation is strengthening. Nigeria’s gross external reserves have risen to about $52.7bn by August 2026.
“Consolidated non-oil revenue increased from approximately N13.63tn in 2023 to N16.4tn in the first two quarters of 2026, demonstrating the growing contribution of non-oil sources to government revenue.
“Our trade position has also improved dramatically: from a merchandise trade surplus of only about N44.8bn for the whole of 2023 to approximately N7.54tn in the first quarter of 2026 alone.
“Real GDP grew by 4.43 per cent in Q2 2026, while inflation has fallen significantly from its earlier peak to about 15.4 per cent.
“These figures do not mean that our economic challenges have disappeared, but they demonstrate that the direction of travel has changed.
“And let me emphasise: macroeconomic stability is not the destination; it is the foundation. The ultimate test is when stability translates into cheaper food, more jobs, affordable credit, reliable electricity and greater purchasing power for Nigerians,” Yilwatda said on Tinubu’s behalf.
Speaking on the $1tn economy, Tinubu said: “It is not merely a number, but a national mission: a Nigeria that produces more, exports more, attracts more investment, creates more jobs and gives its young people a greater stake in the future.”
He said Nigeria’s $1tn economy ambition requires adequate infrastructure, stressing that the Renewed Hope Agenda prioritises roads, rail, ports, energy and digital connectivity.
The President added, “Nigeria must now take full advantage of its enormous maritime opportunity by developing an integrated five-port maritime and logistics corridor.
“Our strategic ambition should be to develop and connect five major deep-sea ports at Lagos, Ondo, Ibom, Port Harcourt and Calabar, linking them by modern rail and road infrastructure, with the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Super Highway serving as the principal coastal road spine. But the vision does not stop at the coastline.
“The Western Corridor will connect the maritime gateways to the interior through the Lagos–Abuja–Kaduna–Kano rail corridor, complemented by the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, thereby opening a direct trade route from the Atlantic coast to the markets of the Northwest and the Sahel.
“The Eastern Corridor will similarly connect the eastern maritime gateways through the Port Harcourt–Abuja–Kaduna–Kano rail corridor, complemented by the proposed Calabar–Maiduguri Trans-Sahara Super Highway, creating a second major east-to-north trade route.
“In this way, Nigeria can create an integrated national transport system in which our five deep-sea ports are connected, connected to our major cities and production centres, and connected ultimately to the landlocked markets of Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Sudan and the Central African Republic.”
He further stated, “This is how Nigeria can move beyond being simply a coastal trading nation to becoming the maritime gateway and logistics hub of West and Central Africa, capturing a much larger share of the continent’s trade, logistics, manufacturing and distribution value chain.
“That is more than transportation infrastructure, but a trade architecture. It would generate opportunities in logistics, warehousing, freight forwarding, customs, banking, insurance, manufacturing, distribution and agro-processing. It would create jobs, generate foreign exchange and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a regional commercial hub.”
Tinubu said Nigeria must develop industrial parks, export-processing zones, logistics hubs, agro-processing clusters and manufacturing centres along major transport corridors.
He said linking rail lines to agricultural and mineral-producing areas would attract processing and manufacturing industries, turning infrastructure into an engine of economic growth.
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