The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, has assured the European Union that Nigeria has the capacity to achieve the $1 trillion economy target set by the President Bola Tinubu administration for 2030.
The minister gave this assurance in Abuja during a courtesy call by the European Union Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, led by Mr David McAllister.
“Our President has set a clear target for Nigeria to achieve a one trillion-dollar GDP by 2030,” Bagudu told the EU committee. He said, “This is ambitious, but achievable through partnerships such as ours with the European Union.”
He explained that the federal government’s strategy was to work with the private sector, which he said would provide 86 per cent of the investment needed to reach the target.
He stated that the Tinubu administration was confident of attaining double-digit growth in an environmentally sustainable way within that period.
Bagudu pointed out that President Bola Tinubu’s bold economic reforms have set the economy on a sustainable growth trajectory and thanked the European Union for its support.
The minister expressed appreciation to the Head of the EU delegation to Nigeria, Ambassador Gauthier Mignot, for facilitating Nigeria’s participation in the 2025 Global Gateway Forum and for securing a credit line of N320.5 billion (€190 million), allocated to Nigerian commercial banks and financial institutions to increase lending to the agricultural sector.
The EU’s global gateway project plans to invest 300 billion euros in Africa to support a green, democratic, and digital transition, sustainable economic development, partnerships, health care, and education.
Bagudu pledged cooperation with the European Union to deepen a shared understanding of development and prosperity that benefits all parties involved.
“We believe the absorptive capacity of our economy is strong, whether in agriculture or other forms of infrastructure, and therefore we are committed to partnering with you and fostering mutually beneficial relationships for our people,” he said.
The Team Lead of the European Union (EU) Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr David McAllister, observed that Nigeria is the EU’s largest trade and investment partner, accounting for a substantial share of both imports and exports.
He stated that the visit aimed to encourage investment and renewal in clean energy, to bolster Nigeria’s manufacturing sector and industrial capacity, and to broaden cooperation and sustainable economic diversification beyond oil exports.
Earlier, the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Sampson Ebimaro, welcomed the delegation and appreciated their extensive experience and diverse roles in shaping Europe’s external relations, promoting democratic governance, and advancing global development cooperation.
He observed that the visit offered a chance to consider how our institutions can work more closely together to tackle common priorities.