…says reforms yielding results

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday declared that Nigeria’s economic reforms are beginning to yield tangible results, citing improving macroeconomic indicators, growing investor confidence and the remarkable resurgence of the Nigerian stock market as evidence that the country is on the path to sustained prosperity.

Receiving the Board and Management of the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President said the positive assessments of Nigeria’s economy by local and international analysts reflected the impact of difficult but necessary reforms undertaken by his administration.

The NGX delegation, led by its Chairman, Dr. Umaru Kwairanga, and Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Temi Popoola, informed the President that the market’s capitalisation had surged from about N30 trillion when he assumed office in 2023 to N160 trillion, with projections to reach N230 trillion before the end of 2026.

Tinubu attributed the turnaround to coordinated fiscal and monetary reforms, commending members of the Economic Management Team for steering the economy through one of its most challenging periods.

He singled out the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, and the Executive Chairman of the National Revenue Service (NRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, for what he described as their foresight, commitment and professionalism.

“When we took over, the situation was extremely difficult. I accepted both the assets and liabilities of my predecessor because I asked Nigerians for the job and had a responsibility to fix the country,” the President said.

He particularly praised Cardoso for helping stabilise monetary policy and restore confidence in the financial system.

“We owe a duty to this country and to ourselves to prove that Nigeria can build a prosperous nation. If the stock market is doing well, then the economy is doing well,” Tinubu said.

The President stressed that economic prosperity would depend largely on stronger private sector participation, saying government alone could not drive sustainable growth.

“If we can encourage the private sector to invest wisely, the economy will grow. That is why I have always supported indigenous enterprise. Even before becoming President, I believed Nigeria needed to back investments such as the Dangote Refinery because industrialisation is key to economic transformation,” he said.

Tinubu maintained that his administration’s target of building a $1 trillion economy remained achievable, given Nigeria’s vast population, entrepreneurial talent and resource base.

He also disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) would undergo further reforms and eventually be listed on the capital market to deepen transparency and broaden public participation.

Earlier, Oyedele described Nigeria’s capital market as one of the world’s best-performing exchanges over the past three years, attributing the performance to sweeping economic reforms initiated by the Tinubu administration.

According to him, the capital market remains one of the fastest vehicles for wealth creation and economic inclusion.

He urged regulators and market operators to simplify listing requirements to attract more companies while encouraging greater participation by young Nigerians, many of whom currently channel their investments into speculative assets and gambling rather than equities.

Oyedele challenged the NGX and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to work towards growing Nigeria’s capital market into a $1 trillion market.

In his remarks, NGX Chairman, Dr. Kwairanga, said renewed investor confidence in Nigeria was directly linked to the administration’s economic reforms.

He noted that during a recent engagement at the London Stock Exchange, global investors sought explanations for the rapid recovery of Nigeria’s market.

“I told them the transformation is driven by leadership. We have a President who understands business and has demonstrated the courage to implement difficult but necessary reforms,” he said.

Kwairanga expressed confidence that Nigeria could attain a $1 trillion economy before 2030 if the current reform trajectory is sustained.

Providing details of the market’s performance, Popoola said the All-Share Index had climbed from about 52,000 points in May 2023 to over 244,000 points, reflecting unprecedented growth in investor confidence.

He estimated that the rally had created wealth for between 500,000 and 900,000 new millionaires, while positioning Nigeria as a reference point for other African capital markets.

Also speaking, Adedeji said the administration’s reforms had fundamentally changed Nigeria’s economic outlook.

He described the removal of fuel subsidy as the foundation upon which the ongoing economic recovery was built, noting that it corrected decades of structural distortions.

According to him, the recently enacted tax reforms represented the first comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s tax laws since the colonial era and demonstrated the President’s political courage to pursue long-term national interest over short-term political considerations.

Cardoso, for his part, said the successful recapitalisation of Nigeria’s banking sector had further strengthened confidence in the financial system.

He noted that although the exercise was initially greeted with scepticism, nearly 75 per cent of the capital raised came from domestic investors, underscoring growing confidence in the Nigerian economy.

The CBN Governor said sustained macroeconomic stability would continue to attract local and foreign investments, deepen financial markets and support growth in the real sector.