Nigeria Targets 7% Growth, $1trn GDP to Score Tinubu Reforms 10/10 — Oyedele
Nigeria must achieve stronger economic growth, create millions of jobs and move closer to a $1 trillion economy before the Federal Government can give President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform programme a full score, Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has said.
Oyedele gave the assessment on Wednesday in Abuja while responding to questions from journalists during a press conference on the government’s reform scorecard.
The minister rated the administration’s performance at seven out of 10, saying the score reflected progress already recorded but also recognised that significant work remained before Nigerians could fully experience the benefits of economic reforms.
“I will give the government an easy 7 out of 10,” Oyedele said.
He explained that the government would earn a higher score when the reforms translate into stronger economic growth, greater prosperity and improved living standards for Nigerians.
According to him, the ultimate test is not simply the volume of revenue collected or the improvement in selected macroeconomic indicators, but whether the economy can generate sustainable opportunities and raise incomes.
Oyedele said the government would target average economic growth of at least seven per cent, alongside a major expansion of the Nigerian economy towards the $1 trillion mark.
“We see economic growth, at least 7%, and we see our GDP heading towards $1 trillion. Then we do 10 out of 10,” he said.
The Federal Ministry of Finance has previously identified doubling Nigeria’s economy from about $450 billion to approximately $1 trillion, achieving an average annual GDP growth rate of seven per cent, creating more than 50 million jobs and lifting 100 million people out of poverty among its long-term targets.
The $1 trillion ambition has also been reaffirmed by the Federal Government as a target for 2030, with Oyedele describing the objective as achievable through sustained reforms rather than a political slogan.
Oyedele said the government was deliberately avoiding complacency because the reform programme was still work in progress.
He said the scorecard would therefore be updated as implementation progresses and as the effects of the reforms become clearer across the economy.
Beyond headline GDP growth, the minister said the government would assess its performance through indicators including shared prosperity, income per capita, job creation and productivity.
“We are measuring shared prosperity. We are measuring income level per capita. We are measuring jobs. We are measuring productivity,” he said.
He added that these indicators would be made available through the Ministry of Finance so that Nigerians and other stakeholders could independently track progress.
The minister’s comments come against a backdrop of continuing debate over whether improvements in government revenues and macroeconomic indicators have translated into better living conditions.
While the Federal Government has pointed to stronger fiscal performance and investment confidence as evidence of progress, critics have argued that the gains have yet to sufficiently reach households struggling with high living costs.
Oyedele acknowledged that poverty and household welfare remained unfinished areas of the reform programme.
He said the next phase of the government’s economic agenda would focus more directly on translating macroeconomic stability into relief for ordinary Nigerians.
Among the measures planned are expanded cash transfers to vulnerable households, deeper agricultural interventions to reduce food prices and improved coordination with state and local governments.
The minister also disclosed plans to develop a central transparency portal where Nigerians would be able to access information on all 774 local governments.
According to him, the proposed platform would provide access to local government development plans, annual budgets and audited accounts.
He said the initiative was aimed at allowing citizens to track how public resources were being deployed at the level where government interventions directly affect communities.
Oyedele said the Federal Government was working with sub-national governments to strengthen transparency and accountability.
He also addressed concerns about capital expenditure and contractors, explaining that government finances were under pressure from competing obligations, particularly debt servicing and recurrent expenditure.
He said debt service had to be prioritised because failure to meet debt obligations could undermine the country’s financial stability.
However, he acknowledged that insufficient revenue could result in capital projects suffering because salaries, overheads and debt obligations had to be met first.
Oyedele said President Tinubu had therefore placed greater emphasis on protecting capital expenditure because of its role in stimulating economic activity and supporting long-term growth.
The minister also said the government had begun prioritising payments to smaller contractors, noting that more than 2,000 contractors had received payments in recent weeks.
He said the reduction in contractor protests was partly an indication that government was gradually clearing outstanding obligations.
Ultimately, Oyedele said the administration’s final score would depend on whether the reforms produce sustained and inclusive economic growth.
For him, a 10-out-of-10 assessment would require Nigeria to move decisively towards seven per cent growth, a $1 trillion economy, higher incomes, more jobs and improved productivity.
The government’s reform agenda, he stressed, would therefore be judged not only by the fiscal savings and macroeconomic stability achieved so far, but by whether those gains translate into shared prosperity for Nigerians.