President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has set an ambitious goal for Nigeria’s economy, announcing on Wednesday that his administration is targeting 7% annual economic growth by 2027. He said this would help lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty and expand the economy to four times its current size by 2030.
Speaking during a meeting with members of the Federal Executive Council in Abuja, President Tinubu noted that his government’s economic reforms since 2023 have been aimed at stabilising the economy and attracting investment. He recalled that his administration removed petrol and electricity subsidies and implemented two devaluations of the naira to encourage economic growth. However, these measures triggered the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades, with inflation and prices of basic goods rising sharply, affecting households and businesses across the country.
Nigeria’s economy recorded 3.13% growth in the first quarter of 2025, driven in part by a recent rebasing of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The rebasing raised the size of the economy to ₦372.822 trillion (about $243.55 billion), but the growth rate still fell below expectations.
President Tinubu told the cabinet that reforms introduced in the past two years have helped strengthen macroeconomic stability and improved investor confidence in the country’s prospects. He, however, identified low public savings as one of the key obstacles to achieving faster and sustained growth.
Currently, public investment accounts for just 5% of GDP. Tinubu stressed the need to make the most of every available naira, directing his economic team to review how revenues are retained and deducted from the federation account. This includes examining fees collected by agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Nigeria Customs Service, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).
The President noted that under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), NNPC Ltd is allowed to retain 30% of certain revenues for oil and gas operations and to set aside another 30% of its profits for oil exploration in underexplored frontier basins. This arrangement, according to industry critics, has been a major source of concern due to its size and lack of transparency. Some experts argue that such high retentions reduce funds available to the federal government for essential development projects and have contributed to inefficiencies in public finance management.
Tinubu said there is a need to address these issues in order to improve fiscal performance and ensure that resources are directed towards projects that will stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and reduce poverty.
The President’s new target is an increase from the 6% growth goal he announced when he assumed office in May 2023. Economic analysts have described the 7% target as ambitious, noting that Nigeria has struggled to achieve such levels of growth for more than a decade.
The World Bank’s latest projections show that Nigeria’s economy will grow by 3.6% in 2025 and 3.8% by 2027 — far below the government’s target. Achieving 7% growth will therefore require significant improvements in productivity, infrastructure development, and revenue generation, alongside measures to tackle inflation and support businesses.
Tinubu assured Nigerians that his administration remains committed to the reforms needed to drive economic expansion, even though the short-term effects have been difficult for many citizens. He called for patience and cooperation from the public, stating that the long-term benefits of the policies would outweigh the current economic hardship.
As the meeting ended, economic advisers and ministers were tasked with preparing detailed strategies to align fiscal and monetary policies with the growth target, ensuring that Nigeria remains on track to achieve its 2030 vision of a much larger and more inclusive economy.
