The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced a plan to achieve a $1 trillion economy, aiming for an annual GDP growth rate between 10% and 12% over the next decade. This goal was discussed at the 2026 Financial Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) Annual General Meeting in Abuja, where Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, Minister of State for Finance, outlined the government’s strategy.
Represented by Amadi Uloma, Assistant Director of Information and Public Relations, Uzoka-Anite stated that reaching the $1 trillion mark is “a specific, measurable decision” and not just a political slogan. She emphasized that with Nigeria’s current GDP at about $375 billion, sustained high growth rates are necessary.
Uzoka-Anite described the first stage as restoring market integrity. She noted that since 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has made significant changes including removing fuel subsidies—previously costing more than $5 trillion annually—and unifying the foreign exchange market. “Investors could not trust the signals our market was sending,” she said. “Today, those reforms are being vindicated. In January 2026, Dr. Doris disclosed that S&P Global Ratings revised Nigeria’s outlook to positive, affirming a high level of confidence in our fiscal, economic and monetary trajectories.”
The minister also introduced the Disinflation and Growth Acceleration Strategy (DGAS), a nine-pillar framework designed to shift Nigeria from a consumption-based economy toward productive capacity. Key elements include promoting industrialization by focusing on domestic processing rather than raw material exports; expanding infrastructure such as broadband and energy; increasing technical training opportunities for youth; and launching consumer credit platforms to improve access to financing for housing, education, and healthcare.
Uzoka-Anite highlighted recent progress in international finance standing: Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list reduces compliance costs for foreign investors. “This matters because it directly reduces compliance costs for foreign investors,” she explained. Adding that “Capital flows more freely to countries that international regulators trust.”
She reaffirmed transparency as a core principle: investment expenditure is now treated as its own pillar within public finance to ensure long-term value creation for citizens. Uzoka-Anite stressed shared responsibility: “President Tinubu’s $1 trillion economy agenda will not be built through government action alone.” She continued: “It will be built through the confidence of investors who trust our institutions, the productivity of entrepreneurs who can access capital and markets, the skills of young Nigerians who find opportunity rather than frustration, and the informed engagement of citizens who understand what their country is trying to do and why.”
In his opening remarks at FICAN’s meeting, Chairman Bassy Udo called bold reforms essential for economic transformation: “reforms is a foundation to Nigeria’s economic transformation”. He added that achieving this ambition requires strong macroeconomic variables and active involvement from financial sector stakeholders.
The meeting was attended by partners and key stakeholders from the Ministry of Finance.