President Bola Tinubu has expressed confidence in his administration’s “Renewed Hope Agenda,” envisioning Nigeria’s ascent to a trillion-dollar economy within the coming decade.
This is coming against the backdrop of skepticism trailing his economic initiatives since he was sworn in on May 29. Nigeria’s economy has taken a massive downturn, with inflation rising to 27.33% amid soaring cost of living.
However, Tinubu said to achieve his economic goals, he would leverage the nation’s abundant population and resources. He highlighted the imperative of tapping into Nigeria’s economic prowess.
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According to a statement by presidential media aide Stanley Nkwocha, the President underscored that the trillion-dollar milestone could be achieved by leveraging Nigeria’s vast resources, with a primary focus on unlocking the nation’s complete economic potential.
This declaration was made during the opening session of the 2023 National Engineering Conference, Exhibition, and Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) in Abuja.
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the event, President Tinubu emphasized that Nigeria, armed with its rich population and resources, holds the potential to evolve into a trillion-dollar economy within the next ten years.
He reiterated the administration’s commitment to job creation, providing access to capital for businesses of all scales, promoting inclusivity, upholding the rule of law, and combating hunger, poverty, and corruption as pivotal elements of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of my administration is defined by our commitment to unleashing our country’s full economic potential, by focusing on job creation, access to capital for small and large businesses, inclusiveness, the rule of law, and the fight against hunger, poverty, and corruption,” Tinubu said.
While acknowledging the challenges faced by many Nigerians presently, Tinubu expressed confidence that the hardships were temporary, with lasting benefits on the horizon. He delineated the administration’s strides in transforming the economy and fostering opportunities for citizens.
Addressing concerns raised by stakeholders in the manufacturing sector, Tinubu highlighted ongoing efforts to address challenges such as access to low-cost capital, multiple taxation, infrastructure deficiencies, foreign exchange hurdles, and export barriers. He assured stakeholders of the administration’s proactive measures in tackling these issues decisively and with unprecedented boldness.
“I have had engagements with stakeholders across Nigeria’s manufacturing sector. I am very much aware of the problems and challenges that are uppermost in your minds: access to low-cost capital, multiple taxation, infrastructure issues, foreign exchange, and export obstacles, among others.
“I am happy to let you know that we are tackling, with unprecedented boldness and decisiveness, each and every one of these issues,” he said.
Touching upon taxation, President Tinubu outlined the government’s dual objective of increasing tax revenues while simultaneously lessening the burden on individuals and businesses. He articulated plans to streamline taxes, enhance efficiency, and plug loopholes to ensure a less burdensome tax regime for businesses and employers.
“It may sound like a contradiction, but it is not: by streamlining the number of taxes, introducing greater efficiency, and blocking the loopholes through which leakages occur, we can and will deliver less burdensome tax regimes to businesses and employers of labor,” he said.
Furthermore, Tinubu shed light on the government’s efforts in reforming the foreign exchange system, aiming to abolish unwieldy and exploitative rate regimes. The goal is to establish transparent price discovery mechanisms, fostering an attractive environment for substantial inflows into a well-managed official market.
“The government’s focus in foreign exchange has been to abolish an unwieldy and much-abused rate regime, setting the foundation for transparent price discovery and all the other elements required to attract substantial inflows into a properly run official market,” the President added.
The $1 trillion economic vision was announced last month during the opening address at the 29th edition of the Nigeria Economic Summit held in Abuja. The economic growth plan aims to elevate Nigeria’s economy to $1 trillion by 2026 and further expand it to $3 trillion by the end of the decade in 2030.