The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reaffirmed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ambition to grow Nigeria’s economy to $1 trillion by 2030, saying ongoing reforms and investments are laying the foundation for the target.
The party’s National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, said the administration was pursuing the objective through economic reforms, infrastructure development, human-capital investment and measures aimed at expanding the country’s productive capacity.
Yilwatda spoke on Tuesday while representing Tinubu as Special Guest of Honour at the second edition of the Asiwaju Scorecard Series/Asiwaju Policy Roundtable organised by the APC Professional Forum.
He conveyed the President’s appreciation to the organisers and participants for providing a platform to discuss the administration’s policies, programmes and achievements.
According to Yilwatda, Tinubu inherited an economy affected by fuel subsidy distortions, multiple foreign-exchange windows, weak revenue mobilisation, foreign-exchange shortages, mounting debt-service pressures and years of inadequate infrastructure investment.
He said the administration responded with difficult reforms, particularly the removal of the fuel subsidy and the unification and reform of the foreign-exchange market.
Yilwatda said recent economic indicators suggested that the foundations of the economy were strengthening.
He cited gross external reserves of about $52.7 billion by August 2026, an increase in consolidated non-oil revenue from approximately N13.63 trillion in 2023 to N16.4 trillion in the first two quarters of 2026, and an improved merchandise trade position.
He also pointed to real gross domestic product growth of 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 and a decline in inflation to about 15.4 per cent from its previous peak.
“These figures do not mean that our economic challenges have disappeared, but they demonstrate that the direction of travel has changed,” he said.
The APC chairman, however, said macroeconomic stability should only serve as a foundation for improving living standards.
“The ultimate test is when stability translates into cheaper food, more jobs, affordable credit, reliable electricity and greater purchasing power for Nigerians,” he said.
Yilwatda said the $1 trillion target should not be regarded simply as a numerical ambition but as a broader development strategy aimed at increasing production, exports and investment, creating jobs and giving young Nigerians greater economic opportunities.
He said Nigeria would need to take advantage of its strategic geographical position, maritime resources, large population, natural resources and expanding consumer market.
APC proposes integrated transport corridors
Yilwatda advocated an integrated national transport and economic network linking production centres, ports, markets and neighbouring countries.
He proposed a five-port maritime and logistics corridor linking major deep-sea ports in Lagos, Ondo, Ibom, Port Harcourt and Calabar through modern road and rail infrastructure.
He said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Super Highway could form part of the country’s coastal transport network, while rail and road corridors could connect the maritime gateways with the interior and wider West, Central and North African markets.
According to him, the Western Corridor could link the maritime gateways with the interior through the Lagos-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano rail corridor and the proposed Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway.
He said an Eastern Corridor could similarly connect eastern maritime gateways through the Port Harcourt-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano rail corridor and the proposed Calabar-Maiduguri Trans-Sahara Super Highway.
Yilwatda said such infrastructure could eventually improve Nigeria’s links with landlocked markets in Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Sudan and the Central African Republic.
“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,” he said.
He described the proposal as “a trade architecture”, arguing that improved connectivity would stimulate logistics, warehousing, freight forwarding, customs, banking, insurance, manufacturing, distribution and agro-processing.
He called for industrial parks, export-processing zones, logistics parks, agro-processing clusters and manufacturing centres to be developed along the corridors.
“Where rail reaches an agricultural region, processing industries should follow. Where it reaches mineral resources, processing and manufacturing should follow,” he said.
Yilwatda also highlighted the strategic importance of extending rail connectivity towards Maradi and the wider Sahel, saying the development could expand opportunities for Nigerian businesses to access neighbouring markets.
Energy, education and skills
The APC chairman said reliable and affordable energy would be essential to achieving industrial transformation, pointing to Nigeria’s natural gas reserves as a potential driver of industrialisation.
He highlighted the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, saying it could support electricity generation, fertiliser production, manufacturing, transportation and household energy supply in northern Nigeria.
He urged the government to encourage energy-intensive industries, including fertiliser and manufacturing plants, to locate along emerging infrastructure corridors.
Yilwatda also identified education, skills development and access to credit as important components of the administration’s economic strategy.
He said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) was designed to help qualified Nigerians access higher education regardless of their financial circumstances.
Drawing on his experience as a former university lecturer, he said he had seen talented students abandon their studies because they could not afford school fees.
“Even if you don’t like President Tinubu, your children can access the fund and access higher education,” he said.
He also cited skills-development and digital training programmes as measures aimed at preparing young Nigerians for the global digital economy.
Credit schemes for small and medium-sized enterprises, he added, were intended to help Nigerians establish and expand businesses and create jobs.
He said the administration’s broader economic agenda also covered healthcare and solid minerals, including investments in cancer treatment facilities and maternal healthcare.
Yilwatda said the solid minerals sector offered opportunities to diversify the economy, attract investment, create jobs and expand domestic processing.
He said the ultimate objective was to ensure that Nigeria moved beyond exporting raw materials and retained more value from its natural resources through local processing and manufacturing.
Yuguda defends subsidy removal
Earlier, the chairman of the APC Professional Forum, Alhaji Isa Yuguda, said the Asiwaju Scorecard Series was designed to provide a platform for party members, policymakers and public officials to explain their contributions to the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Yuguda urged party members to use the forum to document and communicate the administration’s achievements across different sectors.
He described the removal of the fuel subsidy as one of the most significant decisions taken by the Tinubu administration.
While acknowledging the controversy and immediate economic difficulties associated with the policy, he argued that ending the subsidy regime would produce greater long-term benefits for the country.
Yuguda said successive administrations had struggled to reform a system that was vulnerable to leakages, opacity and abuse.
He argued that subsidy removal had increased the fiscal resources available to governments for infrastructure, education and other development priorities.
He warned against attempts to restore the previous subsidy regime as the country approaches the 2027 general election.
According to Yuguda, political parties and candidates should be judged on the sustainability and credibility of their economic policies rather than promises that could reverse reforms he described as necessary for Nigeria’s long-term economic stability.
