Taiwo Oyedele
* Highlights technology, agro processing, energy, manufacturing and financial services.
Nigeria could unlock more than $100 billion in additional economic value by expanding access to credit, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, has said, as he unveiled the federal government’s sector driven roadmap aimed at growing the country’s economy to $1 trillion by 2030.
Oyedele, speaking at the BusinessDay CEO Forum in Lagos, said the government had identified technology, agro processing, energy, manufacturing and financial services as the priority sectors that would drive the next phase of economic expansion, adding that the administration has moved from restoring macroeconomic stability to executing reforms that will stimulate investment, productivity and shared prosperity.
According to him, a detailed implementation framework has already been developed, outlining the growth sectors, timelines, responsibilities and measurable outcomes required to deliver the government’s long term economic objective.
“I know many Nigerians, including some very accomplished economists, do not believe that we will achieve a $1 trillion economy by 2030. But we believe it is possible. It is feasible, and it is realistic. We are not saying it just because it sounds nice. We are putting pen to paper, and we are taking action.
“We have identified the growth sectors. We have identified the new economies. We have identified the actions we need to take, by whom, by when, and what incremental value will be created. For example, just the credit economy, making that work for us, will create an incremental value of more than $100 billion,” Oyedele said.
Noting that the administration has moved beyond restoring macroeconomic stability Oyedele said the government is now focused on implementing reforms that will accelerate investment, productivity and inclusive economic growth.
According to him, the theme of the forum, “From Stability to Shared Prosperity,” reflects Nigeria’s current economic reality. “A couple of years ago, our national conversation was dominated by one fundamental question: Will our reforms restore stability? The answer, as we know it now, is yes.
“But today, a different, more vital question confronts us: How do we translate that hard won stability into prosperity that businesses can invest in, workers can earn from, and families can feel in a tangible way?” he stated.
Oyedele noted that the Tinubu administration inherited a fragmented foreign exchange market, an unsustainable fuel subsidy regime, weak public finances and a tax system that imposed high compliance costs on businesses while generating limited revenue.
He said reforms implemented over the past two years, including exchange rate unification, fiscal restructuring, tax reforms and efforts to rebuild external reserves, have begun delivering positive outcomes despite global economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.
According to him, Nigeria recorded double digit gross domestic product (GDP) growth in US dollar terms in 2025 and is on course to post another double digit expansion this year. “Our inflation rate is back on a downward trajectory. The foreign exchange market is functioning more efficiently, our external reserves are rebuilding, international rating agencies have acknowledged our progress, and investment interest has returned and is steadily growing,” he said.
The minister, however, stressed that macroeconomic stability alone would not guarantee prosperity unless it translates into investment, productivity, employment generation and higher incomes. “No nation has ever achieved greatness simply by keeping its macroeconomic indicators stable. Countries become prosperous when stability attracts investment. Investment drives productivity. Productivity creates jobs. Jobs raise incomes, and incomes translate into better living standards,” Oyedele said.
He disclosed that the next phase of reforms would focus on raising productivity, optimising revenue generation and promoting economic inclusion. To achieve this, he said technology and digital services, agro processing, energy transition, manufacturing and financial services are sectors expected to underpin Nigeria’s long term economic expansion.
Oyedele said the government plans to deepen broadband infrastructure and digital exports, expand local agricultural processing, strengthen energy supply through gas and renewable investments, position Nigeria as a regional manufacturing hub and improve access to finance by deepening capital markets and expanding credit to businesses.
Speaking on the early gains from the administration’s tax reforms, he said efforts to simplify compliance and encourage formalisation were already yielding results, as the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has informed the government that an average of 10,000 informal businesses are registering daily, a development he attributed largely to tax reforms that exempt many small businesses from taxation.
“If we help those businesses build skills, access affordable capital, management support and opportunities, they will stimulate growth and shared prosperity while enabling us to better capture the value they add to the economy,” he added.
On policy coordination, the minister said the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were working closely to ensure greater consistency in fiscal and monetary policies as part of efforts to strengthen investor confidence.
Calling on the private sector to deepen investment and innovation, Oyedele described the country’s ongoing structural reforms as one of the biggest economic opportunities in recent history. “The next chapter of Nigeria’s economic history will not be written by government alone. It will be co authored by enterprise,” he said.
