Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has outlined an integrated economic strategy being pursued by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to transform Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
The APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, said the target would be driven by economic reforms, infrastructure development, industrialisation, human-capital investment and expansion of the country’s productive capacity.
Yilwatda spoke on Tuesday while representing President 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 said the administration inherited an economy burdened by fuel subsidy distortions, multiple foreign-exchange windows, weak revenue mobilisation, foreign-exchange shortages, rising debt-service pressures and years of inadequate infrastructure investment.
According to him, the removal of fuel subsidy and the reform of the foreign-exchange market were among the difficult decisions taken by Tinubu to change the trajectory.
Yilwatda cited several economic indicators which, according to him, showed that the foundation for sustainable growth was being strengthened.
He said Nigeria’s gross external reserves had risen to about $52.7 billion by August 2026, while consolidated non-oil revenue increased from about N13.63 trillion in 2023 to N16.4 trillion in the first two quarters of 2026.
He also cited 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.
“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, stressed that macroeconomic stability was only a foundation and not the ultimate objective of the administration.
“The ultimate test is when stability translates into cheaper food, more jobs, affordable credit, reliable electricity and greater purchasing power for Nigerians,” he said.
Five-port economic corridor
Yilwatda said the $1 trillion ambition should not be regarded merely as a numerical target but as a national development mission aimed at making Nigeria a major production, manufacturing, export and logistics hub.
He proposed an integrated five-port maritime and logistics corridor linking major deep-sea ports in Lagos, Ondo, Ibom, Port Harcourt and Calabar through modern rail and road infrastructure.
He said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Super Highway could serve as a principal coastal road spine, with rail and road corridors linking the maritime gateways to Nigeria’s interior and markets across West, Central and North Africa.
According to him, the Western Corridor would connect the maritime gateways to the interior through the Lagos-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano rail corridor, complemented by the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway.
The Eastern Corridor, he added, would connect eastern maritime gateways through the Port Harcourt-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano rail corridor and the proposed Calabar-Maiduguri Trans-Sahara Super Highway.
Yilwatda said the network could eventually link Nigeria’s ports 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.
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He described the proposed infrastructure network as “a trade architecture”, rather than merely a transportation plan.
He said industrial parks, export-processing zones, logistics parks, agro-processing clusters and manufacturing centres should be established along the corridors.
“Where rail reaches an agricultural region, processing industries should follow. Where it reaches mineral resources, processing and manufacturing should follow. Where dry ports are established, logistics and distribution businesses should develop around them,” he said.
Maradi rail, AKK pipeline
The APC chairman also highlighted the strategic importance of expanding rail connectivity towards Maradi and the wider Sahel.
He said the project could enable Nigerian businesses to access neighbouring markets while ensuring that customs, banking, insurance, logistics, manufacturing and distribution activities linked to regional trade remain domiciled in Nigeria.
“If you are a businessman in Nigeria, the rail to Maradi will ensure that you can trade with all the neighbouring countries,” he said.
Yilwatda also identified reliable and affordable energy as critical to industrialisation, citing the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline as a major component of the administration’s economic strategy.
He said the pipeline should be viewed not simply as a gas transportation project but as an enabler of electricity generation, fertiliser production, manufacturing, transportation and household energy supply.
NELFUND, skills and credit
The APC chairman further listed education, skills development and access to productive credit among the administration’s investments in Nigeria’s economic future.
He said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) was designed to ensure that financial constraints would not prevent qualified young Nigerians from accessing higher education.
Drawing from his experience as a former university lecturer, Yilwatda said he had witnessed brilliant students abandon their education 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 digital skills programmes and credit initiatives for small and medium-scale enterprises as efforts to increase the productive capacity of Nigerians and create jobs.
Yilwatda said the administration’s economic vision also encompassed healthcare and solid minerals, including investments in cancer treatment centres and maternal healthcare.
He said the solid minerals sector offered significant opportunities for economic diversification, job creation and local processing.
Yuguda defends subsidy removal
Earlier, Chairman of the APC Professional Forum, Alhaji Isa Yuguda, described the scorecard series as a platform for party members, policymakers and public officials to explain their contributions to the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Yuguda identified fuel subsidy removal as one of the most consequential decisions of the Tinubu administration, arguing that the policy had freed resources for infrastructure and other development priorities.
He said successive administrations had struggled with a subsidy regime characterised by leakages, opacity and abuse.
The former minister warned against attempts to return to the old subsidy regime as the country approaches the 2027 general elections.
He urged political parties and candidates to present sustainable economic proposals rather than campaign promises that could reverse reforms undertaken by the government.
He specifically cautioned against proposals to restore the former subsidy system, arguing that such a move could return the country to the fiscal and governance difficulties associated with the previous regime.
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