Abuja: The Minister of State for Finance, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, has reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to actualising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s one trillion-dollar economy.
Uzoka-Anite made this known at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) in Abuja, on Wednesday, setting the stage for further discussions on progress toward the economic agenda.
The theme of the meeting was “Realising Tinubu’s One Trillion Dollars Economic Agenda”.
The minister, who was represented by the ministry’s Assistant Director of Media and Public Relations, Mrs Uloma Amadi, described the target as “a specific, measurable destination” rather than a slogan.
She said the reforms lay a solid foundation for double-digit growth.
Uzoka-Anite said that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was currently estimated at about 375 billion dollars.
She said it would require sustained annual growth of 10 per cent to 12 per cent over the next decade to reach the one-trillion-dollar mark.
“That is an ambitious target, and this administration is not shy about saying so. Ambitious targets are what move nations.
“Upon assumption of office in 2023, this administration inherited an economy marked by structural distortions.
“These include a fuel subsidy regime that gulped over five trillion annually. There was also a multiple exchange rate system that undermined investor confidence,” she said.
According to her, removing the fuel subsidy and unifying the foreign exchange market were difficult but necessary steps to restore market integrity.
“Both decisions imposed short-term pain; neither decision has been reversed. Today, those reforms are being vindicated by the data.
“The January 2026 decision by S&P Global Ratings to revise the country’s outlook to positive while maintaining its B-/B credit ratings, attributing it to measurable improvements in the country’s fiscal, external and monetary positions,” Uzoka-Anite said.
She explained that, as a result, the government had restructured the budget framework to distinguish clearly between recurrent and investment expenditure. Furthermore, emphasis was placed on channelling resources toward infrastructure and growth-enhancing projects.
“We now consider not just how much we spend, but what we achieve with it,” she said.
The minister said that the second phase of reforms is anchored on the Disinflation and Growth Acceleration Strategy (DGAS). This strategy was designed to unlock productive capacity and deliver non-inflationary growth of over seven per cent by 2027.
She said that DGAS, developed in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was built on nine pillars.
The minister listed the pillars as capital mobilisation through development finance instruments, sectoral acceleration in agriculture, energy, technology, and manufacturing, and nationwide energy expansion.
Others are digital infrastructure development and large-scale human capital training.
She said that the strategy also prioritised an expanded consumer credit platform. This will enable Nigerians to access structured financing for housing, healthcare, education and other essential needs.
According to her, about 70 per cent of the raw materials used in local industrial production are imported, and this needs to be reversed.
Uzoka-Anite said the Dangote Refinery was an example of the benefits of domestic processing of resources, adding that similar models would be replicated across agriculture, mining, health and manufacturing.
“The removal of the country from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list underscored strengthened anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks. This enhanced investor confidence.”
The minister said that the country had submitted its Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS ) tariff offer under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), committing to zero duties on 90 per cent of goods traded within Africa.
She described the move as strategic repositioning in a changing global trade environment.
She commended FICAN for its role in deepening public understanding of economic reforms. She noted that the media remained a critical partner in shaping informed public discourse.
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Abubakar Bello, said there were strategies to drive Nigeria toward a one-trillion-dollar economy.
Bello, who was represented by Babagana Musti, said that the bank’s efforts were centred on empowering exporters, leveraging regional trade, and eliminating logistics bottlenecks.
He said the three pillars of economic growth were: exporter empowerment, AfCFTA leadership, and infrastructure and logistics.
Bello stated the bank disbursed 108 billion dollars to exporters in 2025.
He urged the media to report accurately on the non-oil sector’s growth. This would build global investor confidence.
“When you report accurately on the growth of the non-oil sector, you are not just reporting an export, you are building the global investor confidence required to hit the one trillion-dollar economy,” Bello said.
The Director-General (D-G) of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Ayodeji Gbeleyi, said that the country was currently undergoing one of the most transformative economic periods in its history.
Gbeleyi was represented by the Director of Industries and Services, Mr Tajudeen Oduniyi.
He said that to bridge the nation’s infrastructure gap, BPE was developing a robust pipeline of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects. These cover several critical sectors.
He said that the critical sectors included energy and transport, agriculture and housing, ICT, and environmental services.
The D-G said that the one-trillion-dollar goal required a combination of fiscal discipline, institutional strengthening, and a vibrant private sector.
He said that the BPE’s approach remained rooted in the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act of 1999, which has historically given birth to key agencies such as the NCC, PenCom, and the EFCC.
He urged financial journalists to maintain their role as watchdogs of the reform process.
The D-G said all future privatisation and commercialisation initiatives would remain transparent and accountable. They will be aligned with national priorities under the “Renewed Hope agenda.”
The Vice President of the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund at the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Abraham Durosawo, said that a diversified village approach to infrastructure financing was essential for the country to achieve its ambition. Durosawo was represented by NSIA Managing Director/CEO Aminu Umar-Sadiq. He said the country required an annual investment of 100 billion to 150 billion dollars to close its current infrastructure deficit.t.He said that the NSIA played a pivotal role through the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF). This ensures that projects are executed to international standards.s.
He called for a shift in public perception regarding how projects are funded. Durosawo said that the “universe of infrastructure” in the country was powered by several distinct layers. He said that the PIDF was managed by the NSIA with the Federal Government.t. According to him, a comprehensive review of the national infrastructure strategy was ongoing. This will ensure that future implementations are both sustainable and efficient. He reiterated NSIA’s commitment to renewable energy. This is enabled by its strategic partnership with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
”The core role we play is acting as a catalyst to attract capital,” he said.
