The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has told pointedly told President Bola Tinubu that his target of pushing Nigeria to a $1trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030 is not attainable with a ‘generator economy’.
The Chairman of NESG, Niyi Yusuf, disclosed this on Sunday while delivering a pre-Ramadan lecture organised by the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni (UMA).
According to him, 46 per cent of Nigeria’s population cannot access electricity.
He stressed that growth would not happen until the country solves the electricity supply challenge
He said for the country to achieve a $1 trillion economy, it must drive Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), tame inflation and tackle foreign exchange volatility.
He added that the government must block fiscal leakages in key agencies, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
“We must stabilise our economy, tame forex volatility and inflation rate. The government must block all fiscal leakages in the CBN, NNPC, and FIRS, and we must increase our tax-to-GDP ratio.
“Also, we must support local businesses and invest in digital infrastructure.
“We must track budget allocation. Our capital expenditure must be more than the recurrent and debt servicing; otherwise, we are not progressing.
“Again, growth will not happen until we solve the electricity supply issue. Currently, only 46 per cent of the population has access to power. We can’t run on a generator economy,” he said.
