The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, has said President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms are laying the foundation for Nigeria to become a $1 trillion economy.
Yilwatda claimed that the direction and potential of the reforms had received recognition from major international financial institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He made the remarks in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, during a rally organised to welcome President Tinubu and his entourage at the Senator Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.
Addressing party supporters, the APC chairman praised Tinubu for confronting what he described as longstanding structural problems holding back Nigeria’s economic development.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, Yilwatda acknowledged that the reforms had brought difficult economic adjustments but warned against abandoning them.
He argued that reversing the policies would take the country back to the economic difficulties that made the reforms necessary.
The APC chairman described Tinubu’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy as more than a political promise, saying it was a national development target that required deliberate policies and sustained investment.
He identified infrastructure, transportation, education, maritime development and financial inclusion as key areas expected to drive the administration’s economic agenda.
Lagos-Calabar highway, student loans among key projects
Yilwatda singled out the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as a major infrastructure project that could improve transportation, boost commerce and unlock economic opportunities for Akwa Ibom and other coastal communities.
He also said the administration’s plans to develop the maritime sector would strengthen the economic potential of coastal states and increase their contribution to national growth.
On education, he praised the student loan scheme, saying it was helping to widen access to higher education.
He also highlighted government interventions targeting women and small businesses, arguing that they were creating more opportunities for Nigerians to participate in the economy.
The APC chairman said the administration’s tax reforms were designed to reduce the burden on low-income earners and small businesses, allowing them to retain more of their earnings and operate in a friendlier business environment.
He further pointed to improved industrial relations in the education sector and efforts to settle outstanding obligations to workers, pensioners and retirees of formerly privatised public enterprises.
Urging Nigerians to support the reform agenda, Yilwatda said the country could not afford to abandon the process of rebuilding its economy.
“Never again should Nigeria return to Egypt,” he declared, insisting that the difficult decisions being taken today were necessary for long-term economic growth.
He maintained that the administration’s policies and investments would position Nigeria for greater prosperity and a stronger place in the global economy.
