Tinubu says private sector to provide 86% of investment for $1trn economy target

President Bola Tinubu says the private sector will provide about 86 percent of the investment required to grow Nigeria’s economy to $1 trillion by 2030.

Tinubu, represented by Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the House of Representatives, made this known on Thursday in Abuja at the presentation of a book.

He said the federal government would focus on creating an enabling environment for businesses to expand, manufacture and export as part of efforts to achieve the economic target.

The president said wealth creation depended largely on private enterprises investing, innovating, manufacturing and exporting.

“Government alone cannot build a trillion-dollar economy. Wealth is created by enterprises that invest, innovate, manufacture and export. Our duty is to clear the path before them,” he said.

“That is why we are harmonising our taxes, ending the menace of multiple taxation. We cannot tax our way into prosperity. We must produce our way there.”

Tinubu identified electricity, infrastructure, agriculture, housing, manufacturing and digital skills as critical pillars of the next phase of Nigeria’s economic transformation.

He said the administration’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market, were necessary to address the economic challenges inherited when he assumed office in May 2023.

According to him, non-oil activities now account for about 96 percent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product, while non-oil exports have exceeded $6 billion, the highest level in the country’s history.

The president also said Nigeria’s external reserves had increased to about $55 billion, representing more than 14 months of import cover.

He added that non-oil revenue rose from N13.63 trillion in 2023 to N16.4 trillion in the first half of 2026.

Tinubu said his administration had moved its focus from economic stabilisation to shared prosperity.

He, however, stressed that the country’s economic progress must go beyond improved economic indicators to translate into better living conditions for Nigerians.