The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), a pressure group, claims that President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s policy thrust has set the stage for Nigeria to attain the status of a one-trillion-dollar economy in the next eight years.
This was disclosed in a statement on Monday by Niyi Akinsiju, IMPI chair.
Mr Akinsiju said that the administration’s decision to partner with private sector players would make it a reality, adding that the feat could be achieved within the next eight years
“It is at this intersection of public and private spending and gross capital formation that we situate the declaration by the Tinubu’s administration that it aspires to a possible one trillion dollar economic size for the country over the next eight years.
“This is given the nation’s constricted economic space and the corruption and bureaucracy that had traditionally and historically constrained the ease of doing business,” the IMPI chief explained.
Mr AKinsiju added, “This declaration may be dismissed as political sloganeering and a fortuitous use of the economic phrase to ingratiate the government in the public minds.
“But, our readings of the policy deployment environment since that declaration was made, will confirm the plausibility of the declaration.”
Mr Akinsiju noted that the IMPI’s thinking was premised on two principal policies, which show the federal government’s seriousness and commitment to engineering a 100 per cent expansion of the country’s economy.
He expressed optimism that this would effectively enhance per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in alignment with global requirements and a higher standard of living impact on the average Nigerian.
“The Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund (RHIDF), the Presidential Economic Coordination Council, and the embedded Economic Management Team, and the Emergency Taskforce are the policy initiatives which we believe will change the tide of economic narratives of the country.
“Our aggregated view of these policies is that they constitute both the framework and fulcrum of the Tinubu’s presidency vision for a trillion dollar economic size,” he said.
He cited the incessant underfunding of capital projects in annual budgets and said the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund would help remedy the situation.
He also explained that the RHIDF was the outcome of critical thinking from a leadership that understood the place of infrastructure renewal and enhancement in enabling and driving economic growth.
He added that it compares to the U.S. $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which President Joe Biden signed into law two years ago.
He further added that, like the BIL, the RHIDF’s underlying intention was to invest in infrastructure that could strengthen long-term productive capacity while creating opportunities for people in disadvantaged communities.
(NAN)
