$1trn economy: State governments' indispensable support - Blueprint Newspapers Limited
Spread the wordThe Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Doris Uzoka Anite, recently charged state commissioners for economic development to align their economic blueprint with the federal. . .
Spread the wordThe Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Doris Uzoka Anite, recently charged state commissioners for economic development to align their economic blueprint with the federal government’s goal of making Nigeria a $1 trillion economy by 2030. In a speech at a two-day retreat, the minister warned state commissioners that the $1 trillion economy target was no longer a distant imaginary model for 2030, adding that achieving the ambitious target required a shift from passive implementation to active leadership. She urged the commissioners to examine their unique economic profile against the national targets to enable them identify and exploit their specific advantages and also align local budgets, policies, and development plans with national priorities to ensure coherence and shared prosperity. The minister described the $1 trillion economy target as “ambitious”. That really is the gospel truth. The target is ambitious and could only be attained through ambitious efforts by the three tiers of government. The minister’s involvement of the state commissioners for budget and economic planning is a timely intervention. It will ease the attainment of the ambitious target. State governments must fight poverty through job creation to attain the target. Blueprint Newspaper believes that the target is ambitious but attainable. Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) for 2025 was $441. 5 billion. It recorded commendable increase from $372. 8 billion in 2024 to that level. That is a growth of $69 billion in one year. What is needed is additional $531 billion in GDP growth to meet the target of $1 trillion economy by 2030. The target will be attained with considerable ease if the economy grows yearly at just above $100 billion in the next four years. That is possible with Nigeria now a net exporter of refined petroleum products. The federal government has taken pragmatic steps to ensure that the economy meets the ambitious target. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) recently announced a 1,407 per cent increase in non-oil exports for 2025 when compared to the situation in 2024. NPA said that unlike in the past when ships hauling imports to Nigeria used to return empty, they now leave fully loaded with exports. The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) is not only encouraging Nigerian manufacturers of export goods to add value to their products, it is also finding markets for the products. That is the secret behind the phantom leap in non-oil exports. The oil industry is also making its impacts in the campaign to make Nigeria a $1 trillion economy. Last year, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered the military to clip the wings of mega crude oil thieves plaguing the industry. The military responded to the president’s directive with intensive patrol of the sea routes through which the thieves haul their loots to international waters for sale to criminals. The intensive patrol has, however, not ended crude oil theft, but it has yielded increases in oil production. Crude oil production has risen from an all-time low of 1. 3 million barrels per day in 2024 to 1. 7 million barrels per day. That has added to the surge recorded by the nation’s foreign exchange reserves which recently crossed the $50 billion threshold. The federal government has initiated comprehensive reforms in the country’s crippled livestock industry. The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development recently announced plans to involve the private sector in the development of the industry. That gesture will make Nigeria a net exporter of milk and other livestock products it currently imports with billions of dollars. Government recently launched the National Council on Livestock Development (NCLD) with the aim of spearheading the development of the industry through private sector participation. Private sector investment in livestock development will move the industry from its current backward value of $34 billion to $75 billion in the next four years. Nigeria currently suffers from abysmally low milk production per cow while breeding is incomprehensibly inert. At the daily production rate of about two litres per cow, Nigeria has one of the lowest cow milk production rates in the world. Kenya musters a daily milk production rate of 20 litres per cow. The low milk production of Nigerian cows is traceable to the poor feeding and near-zero veterinary services in the country’s livestock industry. Nigerian cows trek several kilometres daily in search of fodders. When they see it, the fodder is of low nutritious value. That development takes a toll on milk production and the rate at which the cows breed. Government plans to overcome the low yield in milk and reproduction by encouraging the private sector to invest in the process of strengthening the industry’s veterinary services. All that is needed now is for state and local governments to align their economic priorities with that of the federal government to achieve the ambitious target. Blueprint. ngbelieves that Nigeria can be a $1 trillion economy by 2030. This newspaper enjoins the state governments to support the campaign to make Nigeria a $1 trillion economy. Spread the word