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By Stella Odueme
The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has challenged presidential candidates and political parties preparing for the 2027 general elections to make a $1 trillion economy by 2031 a central benchmark of their economic programmes.
The policy think-tank, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Niyi Akinsiju, said every presidential candidate seeking to govern Nigeria must present a clear, measurable and numbers-driven strategy for achieving the target.
IMPI said attaining a $1 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should not be treated as an abstract economic aspiration, but as a critical pathway to addressing multidimensional poverty, attracting foreign capital and creating millions of productive jobs for Nigeria's growing population.
The group argued that an economy of that size would strengthen Nigeria's investment position and create opportunities to mobilise global institutional capital for infrastructure development without placing excessive pressure on public borrowing.
It also called for a deliberate transition from informal economic activities to formal, high-productivity employment through the activation of deep-water ports, development of agro-processing corridors in northern Nigeria and expansion of digital technology hubs in major southern urban centres.
According to IMPI, the transformation would help move more than 50 per cent of the informal workforce into formal and tax-compliant employment.
The group said, “A $1 trillion economy cannot be built on retail trade or raw oil extraction alone; it requires deep-water industrialisation.”
It added that achieving the target would require the full activation of Nigeria's five-port maritime corridors, establishment of agro-processing clusters across the North and expansion of digital technology hubs in urban centres.
“These sectors create millions of formal, high-yield jobs that provide steady incomes, healthcare access, and career longevity—instantly pulling families out of vulnerable poverty cycles,” IMPI said.
The think-tank also pointed to recent economic reforms, including fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange market reforms, growth in GDP and an increase in external reserves, as evidence of improving macroeconomic conditions.
It said Nigeria's real GDP grew by 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 4.23 per cent in Q2 2025 and 3.89 per cent in Q1 2026.
According to the group, the Q2 2026 growth rate represented the strongest quarterly performance since Q2 2021 and was driven substantially by non-oil activities.
IMPI further stated that the monetary valuation of Nigeria's economy had risen to $377.37 billion, representing an increase of $134.37 billion over 12 months following the rebasing of the economy in 2025.
The organisation said the figures demonstrated that Nigeria had the potential to pursue a much larger economic expansion, arguing that the next phase should focus on accelerating investment and productivity.
“By our analysis, no alternative candidates can claim that a $1 trillion economy is an unrealistic arithmetic problem,” IMPI said.
The group added that the current administration had undertaken what it described as difficult foundational reforms, creating a platform for the next government to pursue faster economic expansion.
However, IMPI urged opposition presidential candidates not to limit their campaigns to criticism of economic hardship.
It called on all presidential contenders to publish detailed Sectoral Capital Allocation Models showing how they would finance and deliver the economic expansion required to move Nigeria to the $1 trillion threshold between 2027 and 2031.
“The national economic debate cannot be won by opposition to hardship alone; a superior vision for prosperity must win it,” the group said.
IMPI added: “Grievance is not a governance strategy.”
It further challenged any candidate promising a faster route to a $1 trillion economy to disclose the specific fiscal policies, trade mechanisms and deregulation measures they would use to attract the volume of private and international capital required to achieve the target.
The think-tank urged voters and the media to scrutinise the economic proposals of presidential candidates based on measurable targets, funding mechanisms, sectoral priorities and implementation timelines rather than political rhetoric.