The numbers are talking, and they are speaking loudly. Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said yesterday in Abuja that Nigeria remains firmly on track to become a $1 trillion economy by 2030, after fresh data showed the economy expanding by 4.43 percent in the second quarter of 2026.
That is faster than the 4.23 percent recorded a year ago, and well above the 3.89 percent posted in Q1. For the first half of the year, average growth stood at 4.16 percent, up from 3.68 percent in 2025.
What makes this different is the breadth. Twenty-seven sectors grew by more than 3 percent in Q2, compared to 23 a year earlier. Manufacturing more than doubled its pace to 3.24 percent. Farming climbed to 4.39 percent. Services, the economy’s biggest engine, hit 4.60 percent. The naira also gained over 12 percent year on year, pushing dollar-denominated GDP up by about 17 percent.
The IMF has taken note, listing Nigeria among the 10 countries expected to drive global growth in 2026, with a 1.5 percent contribution to the world total.
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APC Mounts Bold Defence of Tinubu’s Tough Reforms
At the Asiwaju Scorecard Series, the APC closed ranks behind President Bola Tinubu. National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda pointed to $52.7 billion in external reserves and more than N15 trillion saved from subsidy removal as evidence the May 2023 reforms are working.
Dr. Isa Yuguda, former Aviation Minister, called the subsidy cut a long-overdue surgery. He said the fiscal space created is already funding NELFUND, military hardware, and farm mechanization. Consolidated non-oil revenue rose to N16.4 trillion in just the first two quarters of 2026, while trade recorded a N7.54 trillion surplus in Q1, a sharp jump from N44.8 billion in all of 2023. Inflation has cooled to 15.4 percent.
From Boardroom Numbers to Kitchen Tables
Yet party leaders admit the real exam is still ahead. “Macroeconomic stability is not the destination, it is the foundation,” Yilwatda said. “A good GDP number does not automatically put food on a family’s table.”
The administration’s next push is physical. The plan includes five deep-sea ports linked by road and rail, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Super Highway, northern industrial corridors, the AKK gas pipeline, and CREDICORP for consumer credit.
Oyedele insists if farms keep growing, factories keep hiring, and investors keep believing, Nigeria could reclaim its spot as Africa’s largest economy by 2028. For now, he said, the task is to turn statistics into relief: cheaper food, more jobs, and stronger purchasing power.
