The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on the Federal Government to urgently step up interventions in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, real estate, and trade in order to transform Nigeria’s present growth momentum into a more resilient and job-creating economy.
The Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, made the appeal on Sunday while issuing a policy brief on Nigeria’s second-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report for 2025. He explained that though the latest figures show that the economy is moving towards recovery, the real challenge is how to turn the numbers into improved welfare, jobs, and poverty reduction for Nigerians.
According to him, “Q2 2025 is a clear statement that Nigeria’s economy is moving beyond stabilisation toward a stronger recovery. But to translate this growth into jobs, poverty reduction, and shared prosperity, the focus must shift to unlocking productivity in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, real estate, and trade, the sectors that touch the lives of most Nigerians.”
Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Nigeria’s economy expanded by 4.23 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025, higher than the 3.13 per cent recorded in Q1 and 3.48 per cent in the same quarter of 2024.
The CPPE noted that much of the expansion came from oil and gas, which grew by 20.46 per cent in Q2. However, Yusuf pointed out that the oil sector still accounts for only 4.05 per cent of the country’s GDP. This, he said, highlights the importance of non-oil sectors in driving inclusive and broad-based economic transformation.
In his analysis, Yusuf said agriculture grew by 2.82 per cent in Q2 compared to just 0.07 per cent in Q1, but still struggles with structural challenges such as poor rural infrastructure, limited mechanisation, and rising insecurity in farming areas.
On the manufacturing side, the sector slowed to 1.60 per cent, dragged down by high production costs, unstable foreign exchange, and continued reliance on imports. The construction sector recorded growth of 5.25 per cent, but Yusuf explained that the pace was weaker than expected because of delays in executing infrastructure projects.
He also drew attention to the trade sector, which expanded by only 1.29 per cent, and real estate, which grew by 3.79 per cent. Both sectors are labour-intensive and directly affect millions of Nigerians, making their slow performance a concern for policymakers.
Yusuf argued that to sustain and deepen the recovery, government must move quickly to address structural bottlenecks. “Sustaining and deepening this momentum requires urgent interventions, reducing energy and logistics costs, accelerating infrastructure investment, expanding affordable credit access for MSMEs and farmers, and strengthening domestic capacity through local content and import substitution,” he said.
He added that policies should focus on improving credit flow to farmers and small manufacturers, fixing roads and power supply, and encouraging private sector-led investments in infrastructure.
The CPPE boss stressed that government reforms must be consistent, supported by better governance, and anchored on collaboration with the private sector to ensure growth translates into jobs and shared prosperity.
Yusuf maintained that although the headline growth numbers for Q2 2025 are encouraging, the impact on ordinary Nigerians will remain limited unless targeted interventions are made in the sectors that employ the largest share of the population.
The CPPE therefore urged the Federal Government to ensure that its economic reform programmes prioritise productivity, competitiveness, and inclusive growth, especially in agriculture and manufacturing, which have the capacity to absorb labour and stimulate rural development.
