President Bola Tinubu said on Monday that his administration's economic reforms are reversing decades of underperformance, pointing to rising gross domestic product growth, increased capital inflows and manufacturing expansion as proof the measures are working. Speaking through Vice President Kashim Shettima at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, Tinubu said the government had set reforms in motion to dismantle structural barriers preventing Nigeria's resources from generating prosperity. He described the measures as restoring confidence and laying groundwork for sustainable growth, saying the task of transforming the economy means rescuing livelihoods and creating jobs for young people, farmers, manufacturers and entrepreneurs.
Using figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, Tinubu said inflation-adjusted GDP grew 3.89 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 3.13 per cent in the same period of 2025. Non-oil activities made up 96.08 per cent of GDP, with manufacturing growing 3.29 per cent and the oil sector expanding 2.57 per cent. Capital importation in the first quarter of 2026 reached $10.37 billion, an increase of 83.83 per cent from the same quarter in 2025, comprising both portfolio and foreign direct investment.
The president said the government would continue easing regulatory burdens, strengthening transparency and policy predictability, and expanding access to finance. Beyond the statistics, he noted ongoing work on electricity market reforms, agricultural value chains and developing the solid minerals sector beyond raw extraction into domestic processing. United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed acknowledged the reform gains but urged their urgent consolidation and stabilisation, along with careful management of public expectations.
Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele presented a draft Nigerian Economic Policy Framework described as a national economic doctrine built on enterprise, open but fair markets and whole-of-government coordination. Nigerian Economic Summit Group chairman Olaniyi Yusuf said the priority ahead was stabilising rather than reversing reforms. BUA Group chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu commended improvements in foreign exchange access, recalling that businesses previously struggled to obtain the foreign currency needed for raw materials and machinery despite having naira.
For savers and borrowers, improved capital inflows and foreign exchange access could support financial market stability and reduce the cost of imports, though the reforms have previously coincided with inflation spikes and increased living costs. Tinubu removed fuel subsidies and unified the naira's multiple exchange rates shortly after taking office in May 2023, moves credited with attracting capital and improving forex availability but also linked to the inflation and cost-of-living pressures that followed.