‎Nigeria has left ’emergency ward,’ targets $1trn economy by 2030 – Tinubu

‎ ‎By Johnbosco Agbakwuru ‎ President Bola Tinubu on Thursday declared that Nigeria’s economy has moved “from stabilisation to shared prosperity,” citing non-oil exports above $6 billion, external reserves of about $55 billion, and a target of a $1 trillion economy by 2030. ‎ ‎Speaking at the public presentation of Economic Diversification and Structural Transformation in Nigeria: Past, Present and Future, authored by Honourable Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa, Tinubu said the country had abandoned “cosmetic remedies” for what he called the “hard road of surgery.” ‎ ‎According to him: “For too long, Nigeria’s story was a song sung in a single note.

We were a nation of boundless promise tied to a single product, our budget, our currency and the livelihoods of millions rising and falling with the tides of a distant oil market. We floated on the fragile illusion of oil wealth while the foundations beneath us crackborders. ‎ ‎”When I took the oath of office, I did not inherit a calm sea; I inherited a gathering storm: a collapsing naira, debt service that swallowed nearly all our revenue, depleted reserves, a fuel subsidy that bled our treasury dry, and factories falling silent as industries and jobs fled across our borders.” ‎ ‎The President said his administration inherited “a gathering storm,” including “a collapsing naira, debt service that swallowed nearly all our revenue, depleted reserves, a fuel subsidy that bled our treasury dry, and factories falling silent.” ‎ ‎“We chose reform over ruin.

We removed the fuel subsidy. We unified the exchange rate. These were not easy decisions, and I know the weight they placed on every household. But they were necessary, and today the pain is yielding its promise.” ‎ ‎He stated that non-oil activities now account for about 96 per cent of Gross Domestic Product, while non-oil exports have crossed $6 billion, which he described as the highest in Nigeria’s history. ‎ ‎Tinubu also said external reserves had risen to about $55 billion, representing “more than fourteen months of import cover,” and that non-oil revenue had grown from ₦13.63 trillion in 2023 to ₦16.4 trillion in the first half of 2026. ‎ ‎The President said government alone cannot build a $1 trillion economy, adding that wealth must be created by enterprises that “invest, innovate, manufacture and export.” ‎ ‎“Our duty is to clear the path before them,” he said.

“That is why our 2025 budget introduced a first-of-its-kind De-risking Framework to draw in private capital, which we expect to provide 86 per cent of the investment our 2030 goal demands.” ‎ ‎He said the administration was harmonising taxes and ending “the menace of multiple taxation.” ‎“We cannot tax our way into prosperity; we must produce our way there,” Tinubu said. ‎ ‎The President said the administration had “fought for Mambilla,” winning a $3.38 billion arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris and freeing “a project held hostage for more than nine years.” ‎He added that Geregu Power is moving to raise its capacity to 1,300 megawatts, while the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries are “stirring back to life.” ‎ ‎On infrastructure, Tinubu listed the Kano–Katsina–Maradi railway, Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway, Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway, East–West Road, Ibadan–Ife–Ilesa Expressway, Port Harcourt–Enugu and Enugu–Onitsha expressways, and the restoration of Carter Bridge. ‎ ‎He said 52 per cent of legacy highway mileage is in the North and 48 per cent in the South. ‎ ‎“We are building fairly and deliberately, so that no zone is left behind and no citizen is a stranger to opportunity,” he said. ‎ ‎Tinubu said more than 10,000 homes are rising across 14 states and the Federal Capital Territory under the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme. ‎He said the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund had provided about ₦128 billion in mortgages to 1,859 families in 25 states, at a fixed rate of 9.75 per cent over 20 years. ‎ ‎“As this market grows, so must the confidence of those who invest in it,” he said.

“I will therefore work hand in hand with the National Assembly and stakeholders to establish a strong regulatory authority for housing and real estate.” ‎ ‎The President also cited NELFUND, university solarisation, Bank of Industry loans and grants across all 774 local government areas, the 3MTT digital-skills programme, and 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic infrastructure. ‎“Roads and power lines are the skeleton of a nation; its people are its life,” he said. ‎ ‎Tinubu commended Jibrin, the member representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency in Kano State, whose years as a lawmaker and chairman of key National Assembly committees, including Finance and Appropriations, “lend these pages the weight of experience.” ‎ ‎“This is the essence of the book we present today,” Tinubu said.

“It looks back with honesty, looks around with clarity and looks ahead with courage.” ‎ ‎He said: “The days of hardship are temporary; the