Uzoka-Anite outlines reform roadmap, credit rating boost, housing shake-up and infrastructure push as FG intensifies drive for long-term expansion…..
Nigeria will need to sustain annual economic growth of between 10 and 12 per cent over the next decade to achieve the $1tn economy ambition set by President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, has said.
Speaking on Wednesday at the 2026 Annual General Meeting of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria in Abuja, Uzoka-Anite stated that with the country’s gross domestic product currently estimated at about $375bn, only sustained double-digit expansion would deliver the trillion-dollar milestone.
The minister, who was represented by the Assistant Director of Information and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Finance, Uloma Amadi, described the $1tn target as “a specific, measurable destination,” adding that the administration is implementing structural reforms designed to anchor long-term growth.
“Nigeria’s GDP currently sits at approximately $375bn. To reach $1tn requires sustained GDP growth of between 10 and 12 per cent annually over the coming decade,” she said in her goodwill message.
Resetting the Fundamentals
Uzoka-Anite said the Tinubu administration inherited what she characterised as “structurally distorted” economic fundamentals in 2023, pointing to annual fuel subsidy payments exceeding N5tn and a multiple exchange rate regime that, in her view, incentivised rent-seeking and eroded investor confidence.
She noted that reform efforts are beginning to yield external validation. In January 2026, S&P Global Ratings revised Nigeria’s outlook to positive while affirming its B-/B credit ratings, citing improvements in fiscal, monetary and external indicators.
On fiscal policy, the minister said the Federal Government has redesigned its budget framework to treat investment expenditure as a standalone pillar, separate from recurrent spending.
“For the first time, we are treating investment expenditure as a distinct pillar of public finance, separate from recurrent spending. This matters because it disciplines the government to ask a different question: not just how much are we spending, but what are we building with what we spend,” she said.
Disinflation and Growth Strategy
Uzoka-Anite disclosed that the second phase of reforms is anchored on the Disinflation and Growth Acceleration Strategy, jointly developed by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The nine-pillar framework aims to deliver non-inflationary growth of more than seven per cent by 2027. Key components include capital mobilisation through development finance instruments and targeted acceleration across agriculture, energy, technology, manufacturing and creative industries.
The strategy also prioritises nationwide energy expansion spanning oil, gas, solar, hydro and emerging fuels, alongside digital infrastructure upgrades such as broadband rollout and AI-ready data centres.
She further highlighted plans to build a human capital pipeline capable of training more than 10 million young Nigerians annually in technical and vocational skills, as well as the expansion of a Consumer Credit Platform to widen access to structured financing for housing, healthcare, education and household goods.
Uzoka-Anite warned that Nigeria’s heavy dependence on imported industrial inputs — currently estimated at about 70 per cent of raw materials — limits control over long-term production costs. She cited the Dangote Refinery as an example of domestic value addition that could strengthen jobs, tax revenues and household incomes.
She also pointed to Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list last year as evidence of strengthened anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks, and confirmed that the country has submitted its ECOWAS Tariff Offer to the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, setting zero duties on 90 per cent of goods traded within Africa.
N1tn Mortgage Push
In a related development, the Ministry of Finance Incorporated unveiled details of a N1tn private sector-led initiative to transform Nigeria’s mortgage market and address structural constraints in housing delivery.
The National Coordinator of the Ministry of Finance Real Estate Investment Fund, Sani Yakubu, disclosed that N75bn has already been deployed following the successful raising of an initial N250bn tranche.
Yakubu described Nigeria’s housing market as facing a “life or death” supply gap, noting that developers frequently struggle to access financing due to concerns over off-take viability.
“The toughest question developers face is: who is going to buy the houses? By giving an off-take guarantee, we stand ready to provide mortgages to Nigerians to buy those units, making developers more bankable,” he said.
Under the scheme, mortgages are offered at 9.75 per cent interest for up to 20 years, with a 10 per cent equity contribution. Since March 2024, the initiative has facilitated an average of N10bn monthly through 20 participating institutions, including Sterling Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Infinity Mortgage Bank.
Yakubu added that AG Mortgage Bank alone has processed N6.7bn in mortgages under the programme, exceeding its cumulative output over the previous 21 years.
The N1tn programme, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is structured in tranches and supported by a digital platform listing about 5,000 housing units nationwide to enhance transparency and deepen financial intermediation.
Infrastructure: The Missing Link
Also speaking at the forum, Abraham Durosawo, Vice President of the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund at the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, said the country would require annual infrastructure investments of between $100bn and $150bn to close its deficit and underpin the $1tn economy ambition.
Representing the NSIA Managing Director and CEO, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, Durosawo said the authority is advancing priority projects through the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund and stressed that achieving the trillion-dollar target would require coordinated financing from public and private sources.
“It takes a village to deliver this $1tn economy,” he said, noting that infrastructure funding must combine PIDF resources, tax credit schemes, private capital and state-led interventions.
He added that while certain legacy road projects were reviewed amid funding controls and policy adjustments, a broader reassessment of the national infrastructure strategy is underway to ensure long-term sustainability and value creation.
On energy access, Durosawo said NSIA’s partnership with the Rural Electrification Agency is aimed at mobilising capital for renewable energy projects to serve millions of Nigerians currently off-grid, urging deeper engagement with institutions such as the Bureau of Public Enterprises and the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission to address persistent development gaps.
As Nigeria recalibrates its fiscal, monetary and structural frameworks, officials argue that the trillion-dollar ambition is less a slogan and more a long-term economic blueprint, one that hinges on disciplined reforms, capital mobilisation and sustained, inclusive growth.
About the Author
