The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has urged the Federal Government to move beyond macroeconomic stabilisation and urgently pursue productivity-driven reforms capable of lowering production costs, creating better-paying jobs and improving Nigerians’ living standards.

The CPPE, in an assessment of Nigeria’s economic performance as the country marks 66 years of independence, signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Dr Muda Yusuf, said recent improvements in key macroeconomic indicators provided a stronger foundation for growth but had yet to translate sufficiently into relief for households and businesses.

The organisation said the central challenge facing the economy was no longer simply achieving growth but ensuring that growth generated higher productivity, stronger incomes and more productive employment.

According to the CPPE, Nigeria’s real GDP growth rose from 3.38 per cent in 2024 to 3.87 per cent in 2025 and reached 4.43 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026.

It also noted that headline inflation stood at 15.39 per cent in August 2026, while the Central Bank adjusted its policy rate to 23 per cent in September.

The organisation said government revenues, foreign reserves and exchange-rate stability had also improved, following major policy measures including petrol subsidy removal, exchange-rate reforms and revenue mobilisation.
However, the CPPE cautioned that improved macroeconomic indicators had not yet translated into sufficient welfare gains for households and businesses.

“Stabilisation is only the beginning,” the organisation said, stressing that the next phase of economic reform must focus on productivity, competitiveness and living standards.

The CPPE said although inflation had eased, prices remained significantly higher than their earlier levels, with the combined effects of petrol-price increases, exchange-rate adjustments and global food and energy shocks continuing to erode purchasing power.

It said households were allocating a larger share of their incomes to transport, food, electricity and other basic necessities.

Businesses, it added, were also under pressure from higher input, distribution and financing costs.

The private-sector advocacy group therefore called for urgent measures to address structural constraints that continue to raise the cost of production across the economy.

“A farmer needs security, irrigation, improved seeds, storage facilities and access roads to raise output,” it said.

“A manufacturer needs reliable electricity, efficient ports, better logistics and predictable regulation to compete, while a small business needs affordable working capital and customers with spending power.”

The CPPE warned that without tackling these constraints, economic growth could remain too weak to generate sufficient productive jobs and meaningful improvements in real incomes.

The organisation urged the government to prioritise electricity supply, security in farming and commercial corridors, ports and logistics, agricultural productivity, industrial competitiveness and enterprise-focused skills development.

It also called for stronger links between government support for businesses and measurable outcomes such as investment, efficiency, employment and export performance.

According to the CPPE, the overriding objective should be to lower the cost of producing in Nigeria while expanding the supply of goods and services that Nigerians can afford.

The organisation said Nigeria’s economic transformation over the past six decades had created significant opportunities but remained incomplete.

It noted that agriculture had once dominated livelihoods and exports, while petroleum later became central to public finance. Telecommunications, banking, trade, construction, entertainment and digital services had since broadened the economy’s sources of activity and investment.

Major investments in cement, fertiliser and refining, it added, had also demonstrated the potential for large-scale domestic production.

However, Nigeria had diversified what it produced more than what it exported, while low farm yields, expensive electricity and logistics and high levels of low-productivity employment continued to constrain growth.

The CPPE also called on all three tiers of government to take responsibility for improving the business and living environment.

It said the Federal Government should sustain macroeconomic stability while focusing on national security, electricity and transport infrastructure.

State governments, according to the organisation, should improve land administration, roads, investment approvals, education and healthcare, while local governments should maintain community infrastructure, provide basic services and end arbitrary levies imposed on small businesses.

The organisation stressed that the responsibilities were interconnected.

It noted that a federal highway could not unlock agricultural production if state and local roads left farms inaccessible, while higher public revenues would have limited impact if schools lacked teachers, clinics lacked staff and businesses continued to provide their own electricity and water.

The CPPE consequently called for greater accountability in the use of public resources, with governments required to demonstrate measurable improvements in infrastructure, services and economic outcomes.

It said the key indicators should include lower transport and production costs, higher agricultural yields, more reliable public services, stronger education and health outcomes and more productive jobs.

The organisation said Nigeria had the enterprise, market and resources to achieve substantially more at 66, but must now convert the gains from economic stabilisation into higher productivity and ensure that the resulting growth translates into improved living standards.

“The ultimate measure of economic reform is not simply stronger GDP figures or improved fiscal and monetary indicators. It is whether Nigerian households can buy more with their incomes, whether businesses can produce more competitively, and whether young Nigerians can find productive opportunities at home.”