How Private Sector Can Help Build $1trn Economy, By Tinubu
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that the realisation of the $1trillion economy target of his administration is tied to the active participation of the private sector.
Tinubu spoke in Lagos on Tuesday during the 2026 Annual Directors’ Conference of the Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria with the theme “Reimagining the Boardroom for Inclusive and Sustainable National Prosperity in the New Economy.”
According to the president who was represented by the Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, the ambition of his administration is seeking a productive and competitive Nigeria where enterprise flourishes, and more citizens can earn a decent living.
” We have set ourselves the aspiration of building a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030.
Let me be candid about what that means. This is not a target we can achieve by announcement. It requires an economy that produces more, attracts sustained domestic and foreign direct investment, exports more value-added goods and services, and grows faster and more inclusively than it has in the past. It requires determination and a partnership between government and enterprise.
Investors are attracted not merely by the availability of opportunities, but also by the confidence that their investments will be managed within transparent, accountable and predictable institutional frameworks”, he said.
Consequently, to him, economic progress is necessarily a shared undertaking that entails the public sector creating the enabling environment through sound policies, reliable infrastructure, security and fair regulation while the private sector mobilizes capital, creates businesses, introduces innovation, expands production and employs people.
” Each depends upon the other. When government removes obstacles and businesses respond with investment, the benefits are multiplied across the economy.
Government must earn enterprise’s confidence. Enterprise must earn society’s confidence. Neither can succeed without the other”, he said.
He urged business leaders to expand productive investment, pioneer new industries and help build the enterprises that would define Nigeria’s future. He urged them to exercise informed confidence in the direction of economic reforms, while continuing to demand the clarity, consistency and accountability that successful investment requires.
“Move beyond watching for opportunities to create them. Employ our people, deepen local value chains and build businesses capable of competing internationally”, he said.
On the role of government institutions and officials, he asked them to execute policies with urgency, transparency and a genuine service mindset towards the private sector. He asked them to reduce avoidable delays, coordinate regulatory requirements, honour legitimate commitments and treat investors and entrepreneurs as partners in national development, while enforcing the law fairly and consistently.
” The duty of public office is to enable lawful enterprise, protect the public interest and deliver results.Our purpose is one and the same. A thriving private sector generates jobs, incomes and the revenues that sustain public services. An efficient and accountable public sector provides the security, infrastructure and fair rules that protect and accelerate enterprise. The two are not rivals; they are mutually reinforcing partners in national prosperity”, he stated.
The president urged the conference to strengthen the resolve of both sectors to turn confidence into investment, policy into implementation and partnership into measurable results.
He added: “Nigeria’s future will be shaped by the decisions we are prepared to make and the standards we are prepared to uphold. We have the talent to build. We have entrepreneurs willing to take risks, businesses capable of competing, and young people ready to contribute. Our shared responsibility is to create the conditions for their efforts to earn lasting rewards.”
Urging the building
of enterprises that outlast their founders, institutions that deserve public trust, and an economy in which more Nigerians have a stake, Tinubu said: “The decisions are ours to make. The responsibility is ours to discharge. And the prosperity we seek must reach the people we serve.”